Uzbek travel industry, an independent review
This article discusses several aspects of tourism in Uzbekistan which are rarely raised both in governmental documents or official websites, and in the pages of local tour operators. The Government does not want to compromise the generally favourable statistics, and the tour operators are unwilling to scare off potential clients by mentioning possible problems or drawbacks. In this independent review, I will make an attempt to shortly outline the key characteristics of Uzbek travel industry so that when a traveler is to make a choice, it would be an informed and substantiated one.
Uzbek tourism sector
Uzbekistan’s tourism sector has been growing over the past 10 years, after a certain decline in 1990s, after independence, in terms of the number of local tour operators and agencies, though the officially reported numbers of incoming tourists remain more or less stable over the period, ranging from 300,000 to 400,000 people per year. The data are collected and disseminated by UzbekTourism, the Uzbek National Tourism Authority.
The tourism sector in Uzbekistan remains one of the most competitive economic sectors, with over 700 licensed tour companies operating in the market (data as of early 2010). Licensing of tourism activity is required by the Government and the current Law on Tourism (passed on 20.08.1999), and tourism services are also subject to obligatory certification.
The majority of licensed agencies are represented by hotels and family B&Bs, outbound travel agencies, air ticketing agencies, and inbound tour operators.
The Ministry of Tourism (called Uzbek Tourism) is a very peculiar agency, which combines two functions which seem to be rarely combined by tourist authorities elsewhere in the world. The first function is to implement the Governmental policy in the sphere of tourism, with regulatory, monitoring and assessment tasks, of which key areas are licensing and certification. The authority perform regular checks of businesses as to conformity with legal requirements, safety and quality of services.
Also, UzbekTourism is a business company itself. It owns a number of Tour Bureaus in Samarkand, Bukhara and Khorezm (Khiva), several big hotels in the cities, etc. The situation, therefore, is quite unusual: on one hand, the Governmental agency implements regulatory functions over private businesses and issues/suspends/withdraws their licenses, and it is their direct competition, on the other hand, in the tourist sector. Such a dual nature of the agency is creates a lot of issues for local travel sector as the government body tends to interfere in all and every aspect of their business matters. There is an obvious conflict of interests here, and it’s been vigorously discussed by local and international tourism promotion experts over the past few years, yet the stiff control system is still there.
Why is travel expensive in Uzbekistan?
Uzbekistan is a country with a transitional economy (as it is still viewed by international economic development organizations, such as World Bank) and some elements of older Soviet economic management backed by a fairly strict political rule. There are several factors that increase the cost of travel, and the greediness of local tour operators is the last to mention.
1. High cost of local imports. This is probably the most important reason why travel costs are high in Uzbekistan. In general, all imports are highly centralized, and due to limited convertibility, only few importing companies have access to cheaper foreign exchange. All the others have to buy hard currency at higher rates and, thereby, deteriorate their competitiveness. The travel sector is highly dependant on imports, especially the transportation sector when it comes to minibuses and tourist coaches (not manufactured locally), spare parts to them, construction materials, furniture and equipment for hotels, such as air conditioners, office equipment, etc.
2. High cost of utilities used by hotels and other lodging sector facilities
3. Extreme seasonality of tourism to Uzbekistan: the majority of tourists come in the periods of relatively mild weather conditions, that is, in April - May, or September - October. During this short period, the businesses have to compensate for the idle months in winter and summer.
What are the risks?
First of all, it is VERY UNLIKELY that you get circumvented by a local travel agency. Cases of fraud in Uzbek travel sector are extremely rare because of the rigid controlling mechanisms on the part of the Government, and the severe sanctions that follow. A mere warning that you would contact the authorities in case you feel that you don’t receive the services you had paid for would be normally sufficient to get your money back.
Another risk is that the agency people are non-professional. This is more likely, and the likelihood has little to do with the size or reputation of the local agency. From my experience, there is a quick turnover of the staff in tourism, new people are coming all the time as several tourism colleges feed the industry with new graduates every year. It takes at least a year for a young professional to become competent in Uzbek tourism, and it would be your bad luck if you get in touch with her or him before that.
Recommendations to travellers
What a foreign tourist should know about a local tour operator in Uzbekistan and how to deal with them? First of all, you need to make sure that the company you have chosen has a license. Just ask them to send you a scanned copy over email. Secondly, look at their website. Because of harsh competition in the sector offline, there is even harsher competition in the Web, and you can easily find the agency that you like better. Then try to call their office using the phones provided on the website. Ask them about the service required and see how quickly they respond. Check how good their English is, what payment options they offer. Then make a comparison with at least three different companies as far as the costs and quality of services are concerned. With such an approach, you will definitely receive a competitive service at an affordable price.
Do ask for rebates wherever possible. Consider coming in off-season time, when hotels and transportation can be found at significantly cheaper rates.
Traveling to Uzbekistan can be fun. The original culture and rich history of people coupled with true hospitality of Uzbeks, tasteful cuisine and diverse attractions, from ancient monuments to beautiful landscapes, may please even the savviest travelers.
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Samarkand. Registan Square |
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Kalyan Tower in Bukhara |
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