What is planned to be implemented in this direction, and what has already been achieved? These and other questions were answered by industry experts at the second meeting of the APTA Networking Club, which took place on September 17 this year in the city of Samarkand. The meeting was attended by tour operators, hoteliers, representatives of guest houses, government agencies and the media.
Within the framework of the APTA Networking Club, representatives of the tourism business had an excellent opportunity to discuss in an informal atmosphere all the problematic issues that hinder the development of the industry. The full-scale implementation of this task is facilitated by the European Union project "Strengthening rural and ecotourism through business associations for sustainable economic development in Central Asia", which is successfully implemented by the Association of private tourism agencies of Uzbekistan (APTA).
The meeting within the framework of the APTA Networking Club in Samarkand clearly demonstrated that the format with personal communication between entrepreneurs and government representatives is the best opportunity to raise the level of ongoing projects to the next level, as well as effectively solve urgent problems and get competent answers to the accumulated questions.
The list of questions from entrepreneurs turned out to be quite wide and varied. In particular, representatives of the travel industry are concerned about the issue of training for this sector. The obvious shortage of qualified specialists of the lower and middle level is worrisome, starting from service personnel (receptionists, maids in hotels) and ending with guides who not only need to know languages, but also have extensive knowledge in the field of history, ethnography and architecture.
The entrepreneurs were interested in the issue of improving the infrastructure, which is extremely necessary for a comfortable stay of tourists. At the same time, they concretized their problematic issues and proposals with examples and facts. Among the problems raised were: insufficient lighting of some streets of the city, difficulties with the allocation of land plots for the implementation of projects necessary for the development of the tourism industry. The participants of the meeting were able to receive competent and detailed answers from the representatives of the khokimiyat of the Samarkand region to the questions raised.
Within the framework of this meeting, an agreement on cooperation was signed between the Khokimiyat of the Samarkand region and the Association of private tourism agencies of Uzbekistan (APTA).
Taking this opportunity, proactive and creative, entrepreneurs proposed interesting projects for the implementation that will help make the stay of tourists in the city more comfortable and exciting.
Khokim of the region Erkinjon Turdimov invited the participants of the APTA Networking Club in Samarkand to offer interesting projects and proposals for a more detailed study of the proposed ideas. A distinctive feature of the second meeting of the APTA Networking Club was a new presentation block. In this part, the participants of the meeting were presented with innovative products with high potential in the tourism industry. It should be emphasized that almost all the presented products are focused on improving the service for tourists, although they are positioned in different areas of applications (medical and publishing services, online services and gadgets).
In general, the visiting session was held with a positive attitude. All participants understand that only concerted actions and joint efforts will help to achieve positive changes, and most importantly, in the shortest possible time. And discussion of problematic issues in the "APTA Networking Club" format allows you to do this with high efficiency.