The Association of Private Tourism Agencies of Uzbekistan has successfully completed the European Union project “Silk-Road CBT Initiative: connecting Central Asian community-based tourism and European markets” in partnership with the International Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development ACTED.
The main objectives of the Project were to promote the competitiveness of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the community-based tourism sector in Central Asia as drivers of inclusive economic growth, and to improve the provision of business intermediary services that support the growth of MSME businesses in the local tourism sector (CBT).
It should be noted that cooperation in the implementation of the Project was carried out between the offices of APTA and ACTED in Tashkent and the Central Asian Coordination Office of ACTED in Bishkek. At all stages, cooperation took place in conditions of maximum collegiality. Regular online coordination meetings were held with ACTED and, if necessary, with the participation of project partners in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
The final beneficiaries of the Project were 170 local tourism MSMEs in Uzbekistan, who previously received training from ASTO within the Project on business skills, financial literacy, service standards and regulatory framework, 4 Tourism Information Centers (TICs) in Uzbekistan, 3 Tourism Associations in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan, who received mentoring from APTA. Among them:
Rural communities in Uzbekistan. They include ethnic and cultural minorities in areas with high levels of poverty and poor infrastructure. Increasing the competitiveness of small businesses in this sector has directly improved living conditions in rural areas and stimulated investment in infrastructure, education and health care.
Wider population of Uzbekistan. The project contributed to the expansion of regional cooperation in the tourism industry and the promotion of Central Asian rural tourism in the international market through a coordinated regional branding strategy. In the long term, this could lead to a more equal distribution of incoming tourism flows between and within countries, contributing to the environmental and social sustainability of the industry and increasing inclusiveness with subsequent economic growth.
Results
✅Improved capacity of business intermediary organizations (BIOs) to provide business development services to MSMEs in the community-based tourism sector
✅The capacity of business intermediary organizations (BIOs) has been expanded to represent the interests of the community-based participatory tourism sector and promote regional integration of tourism service providers.
✅MSMEs' access to low-cost community-based tourism microfinance products has been improved.
✅Promotion of Central Asia as a regional tourist destination in the European market.
Activities carried out within the framework of the Project
Capacity building of BIOs to provide CBT training services to MSMEs. This event expanded the capacity of CBT BIOs (APTA, KCBTA, TCBTA) to provide fee-based membership services to CBT MSMEs.
As part of this Project, APTA actively participated in the following sub-events:
✅ GOCA Assessment of APTA: APTA completed the ACTED Grassroots Organizational Capacity Assessment (GOCA), which analyzes the current capacity of associations in 5 areas:
1) Organizational management;
2) Financial management;
3) Leadership, participation and group dynamics;
4) Project cycle management; 5) External relations to develop recommendations for improvement and capacity building.
✅ Development of a special training and mentoring program for APTA. Together with APTA, ACTED developed a plan for developing the organizational capacity of APTA based on the results of the assessment. APTA approved the plan and participated in the implementation of its action points.
✅ Conducting individual GOCA training for APTA specialists. APTA participated in a two-day training organized by ACTED with a special focus on developing the APTA model for financial sustainability and membership services for CBT MSMEs.
✅On-the-job mentoring provided by an APTA consultant. An invited external consultant provided support to APTA specialists in organizational development in the workplace.
Creation of BIO training centers (Uzbekistan and Tajikistan)
APTA actively took part in the following sub-events:
✅ Preliminary study in Uzbekistan. APTA worked closely with ACTED to provide input and support to the scoping study, which aims to determine the structure of the proposed training center and country-specific conditions for adapting the KATOS model to Uzbekistan.
✅ Development of the creation of a CBT training center in Uzbekistan. With support and guidance ACTED APTA will establish a training center within its current structure designed to provide sustainable fee-based training services to tourism MSMEs.
✅Adaptation and translation of the KATOS quality standards manual. APTA will review the KATOS Quality Standards Guide developed for use in the CBT sector in Kyrgyzstan and contribute to adapting the guidelines to the legal and operational context in Uzbekistan. ACTED will provide translation of the manual into Uzbek, and APTA will accept and use it in its established Training Center.
✅ Development of new training modules for the development of business skills. APTA identified 10 trainers who, together with colleagues from ACTED, TCBTA and KCBTA, contributed to the development of new training modules on business skills development for tourism MSMEs. In particular, a training manual has been developed.
✅10 APTA trainers participated in the training of trainers conducted by ACTED on providing training modules for tourism MSMEs.
Conducting trainings for MSMEs TOS
Three-day training seminars were held on the topic: “Organization of effective activities of a family guest house,” in which issues such as the Basics of organizing guest houses were raised and discussed; where to begin? How to create a tourism product “rural hospitality; How to become an entrepreneur in the tourism sector?; Architectural, planning, engineering and sanitary conditions: Requirements for the land plot, house and rooms; Organizing the reception of guests: Technology of preparing the house for receiving guests (cleaning technology) Requirements and recommendations for guest house staff; Cooking requirements; Requirements for the kitchen and dining room; Menu development; Technology for preparing various dishes, etc.
Support for Tourist Information Centers (TICs)
APTA actively took part in the following sub-events:
✅ Zoom meeting with the ECEAT team regarding five-day training preparation;
✅ Three-day training on tourist information centers;
✅ Development of an action plan to improve services in Uzbekistan. APTA provided input into service improvement action plans as requested by the Project Manager.
✅ Update the TIC Quality Handbook based on lessons learned - APTA will review and provide input to the Quality Handbook as requested by the Project Manager.
Digitalization of TIC services
✅APTA specialists provided information to create an interactive map, in particular, photographs and data of attractions in the Fergana Valley tourist areas in Russian and English.
✅ Update of the Visit Central Asia website and development of the Visit Central Asia application. APTA staff provided all the necessary information to update the website and application.
Regional coordination between TICs. A study trip to Kyrgyzstan was organized along the route Bishkek - the village of Kochkor - Karakol - the village of Bokonbaevo - Chon Kemin - Bishkek.
Exchange of knowledge with European partners
✅ A study trip to Europe took place for three APTA specialists and two tour operators. As part of the trip and the EU program “Switch Asia” and “Central Asia Invest V”, specialists took part in the International Tourism Exhibition IFTM TOP RESA - 2022.
✅ Eurogites visited Central Asia. 2 representatives of Rural Tour (Andris Vaivods, Zane Vaivode from Latvia), selected and under the ECEAT contract, visited Fergana, Andijan, Namangan regions.
Expanding knowledge by sharing best practices. APTA staff actively participated in the research sharing experience, including best practices, key findings and lessons learned. In particular, the experience of CBT in Germany was studied.
Integrating best practices into CBT training center curricula. As part of the Central Asia Invest V project, APTA carried out preparatory work for the launch and registration of the APTA training center. Considering best practices for effective management of family guest houses, financial literacy and classification. In the future, best practices will be used by the APTA training center.
Partnership between BIO from EU and Central Asia. APTA signed a memorandum with leading European organizations:
✅A cooperation agreement has been concluded with the Romanian National Tourism Association ANAT.
✅A cooperation agreement was signed with the Association of Independent Tour Operators of Germany (ASR).
✅A cooperation agreement was signed with the European Federation of Rural Tourism - RURALTOUR
✅An agreement has been concluded with the Latvian Rural Tourism Association “Country Traveler” (LLTA “Lauku ceļotājs”)
✅A tripartite partnership agreement was signed with KATOS and TATOS.
Mapping cultural and historical sites. APTA participated in working group meetings on mapping cultural and historical sites together with key participants and experts from various sectors.
APTA provided assistance in illuminating tourist sites in the Fergana Valley. In particular, the necessary information about family guest houses in the Fergana Valley was provided and posted on the websites www.cbtuzbekistan.uz and ww w.visitcentralasia.org. The development of an interactive tourist map is also ongoing.
Development of tourism in new regions and joint assessment of communities in Uzbekistan. APTA staff conducted an assessment of local communities with public participation in Uzbekistan in the cities of the Fergana Valley.
Conducted community workshops in Uzbekistan. An APTA expert in Namangan, Fergana and Andijan conducted a series of training seminars, where he spoke about the project, directions, and how to become a successful tourism entrepreneur. Personal visits by APTA experts to entrepreneurs in Uzbekistan also took place, during which assessments took place in 19 meeting places with a total of 150 TOS suppliers or potential TOS suppliers.
In each community, individual and collective meetings were held with the participation of 5-20 people:
✅farmers
✅ taxi drivers
✅restaurant owners/employees
✅hotel owners/employees
✅ tourists (mostly Uzbek tourists)
✅ horse owners
✅ CEO of Humo Airs
✅ 3 pilots and Humo Air
✅ border guards near Vodila/Fergana and Malbug/Sokh
✅ police officers
✅ traditional craftsmen
Only 150 people.
Connecting entrepreneurs to the APTA Training Center
As part of the Central Asia Invest V project, APTA carried out preparatory work for the launch and registration of the APTA training center. Considering best practices for effective management of family guest houses, financial literacy and classification. In the future, best practices will be used by the APTA training center.
As part of this project, APTA conducted training for 170 representatives of family guest houses on the topic “Services of family guest houses” and for 100 representatives of family guest houses on the topic “Financial literacy and business plans.”
PR promotion of CBT in Uzbekistan
Conducting a three-day seminar on the topic “Advocacy: promoting public interests.” An advocacy roadmap has also been developed.
Conducting an APTA training in Dushanbe and a webinar on the topic “KATOS Policy for Promoting Sustainable Tourism.”
Integrate environmental and cultural preservation issues into the APTA Training Hub curriculum, building on best practices and lessons learned from the webinar.
Holding a conference on December 1, 2022 on the topic “Green tourism in Central Asia and beyond the region.” As part of the conference, a regional round table was held on the topic: “Transformation of the Association of Private Tourism Agencies of Uzbekistan (APTA) into the National Association of Tourism of Uzbekistan (NATUz).”
Final training and delivery of training on finance and business modules for more than 100 MSMEs in Uzbekistan.
Considering the high interest of business circles and the high potential for tourism development in the Republic of Uzbekistan, within the framework of the Project, 6 three-day and 2 two-day (for owners of family guest houses, as well as potential owners of family guest houses) training seminars were organized in promising CBT tourism destinations in Namangan, Andijan, Fergana, Bukhara and Tashkent regions, in which 100 participants took part.
Round table in the Fergana Valley on destination marketing. As part of the “Appointment Management Committees” seminar, APTA, together with ACTED, held 2-day seminars on Appointment Management Committees, and ASTO assisted in collecting the list of participants. In addition, a seminar was held, which was attended by representatives of the Fergana administration, tour operators, owners of family guest houses, artisans, and guides. The workshop was based on the results of participatory community assessments.
Three geographic zones have been selected for targeted marketing in Uzbekistan (Fergana, Andijan, Namangan regions). Creation of 3 destination management committees (DMC) in Uzbekistan.
Study trip to Germany by APTA experts and organization of four promotional tours along the Silk Road. APTA specialists prepared an information tour for 7 EU tour operators (focused on CBT) and 3 journalists. Another 25 tour operators from the EU countries, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan went on an info-tour to Uzbekistan.
Promotion of the Project through the Uzbek media and foreign media.
The European Union project “Silk-Road CBT Initiative: connecting Central Asian community-based tourism and European markets” was able to clearly demonstrate that Uzbekistan can soon become an attractive destination for rural development and fans of CBT tourism from all over the world.
Our country has all the necessary conditions and opportunities for the development and growth of popularity of CBT tourism. Rich culture and unique nature, and most importantly, Uzbek hospitality is the hallmark of the Uzbek people. For residents of our country, a guest is the most precious person and he is provided with the best conditions and the most interesting leisure time.
Considering that the growing popularity of CBT tourism is associated with factors, cooperation with representatives of the Fergana Valley tourism industry has a positive result. End readiness of beneficiaries (CBT providers) participating in training events was extremely high. This also applies to the process of examining the requirements and quality standards of CBT offerings. As a result, good and open, trusting relationships were established with representatives of CBT tourism.
APTA, in turn, will continue to provide training for representatives of the tourism industry for the successful operation of family guest houses and develop CBT in Uzbekistan.