In Tajikistan, hidden among the mountains, Lake Iskanderkul reveals its characteristic turquoise colour.

Credits: Pierre-Armand Dussex (Switzerland)

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Bright sunshine and winter cold: ideal conditions for strolling around Registan Square in Samarkand. The stream of tourists, cameras, and colorful flags of organized tours has dissipated, giving way to the silence of ancient stones. Winter marks the return of the low season and bitter cold: the wind sweeps across the historic sites of Samarkand, emptied of the crowds that flock here in the milder months. While they may have to contend with icy roads, the few winter visitors can admire the shades of blue of the mosques and madrasas in the January light.

Credits : Hélène Garnier (France, @suneclat)

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The day draws to a close in Khiva. The setting sun highlights Itchan Kala, the old city museum, and in particular the Muhammad Rahim Khan Madrasah. Khiva has been selected as a flagship destination for 2026 by National Geographic, thanks in particular to the significant efforts made in building tourist infrastructure.

Credit: Hubert-Felix Delattre (France)

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On the outskirts of Bishkek, the Ala-Archa Valley is ablaze with autumn colours.

Credit : Etienne de Vaumas (France)

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Sunrise at Son-Kul Lake in Kyrgyzstan.

In summer, inhabited by nomads who build yurts to accommodate tourists but especially to tend the summer pastures there. Horses are used as livestock but also for tourism.

Credit: Lucas Fita (@lucasfita_notes, Portugal)

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To attract tourists, Bukhara merchants display a multitude of small, colorful objects outside their stores: antique chalpan embroidery, tubeteika (headdresses with a wide variety of designs, worn by both men and women), chekish (studded stamps used to decorate bread).

Credits : E. S.

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A rainbow stretches over the mountains of the Köl-Suu yurt camp in Kyrgyzstan. In many cultures, the rainbow is interpreted as a bridge between two dimensions, terrestrial and celestial, allowing bodies or spirits to pass through.

Credits : Novastan

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The Ashgabat – Türkmenbaşy night train takes these young girls on holiday to the brand new sea resort area of Awasa, on the Caspian Sea. March 2024.

Credits : Eleonora Sacco (@painderoute, Italy)

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The town of Turkestan, Kazakhstan, has been turned upside down by the extensive work being carried out to transform pilgrims into religious tourists. While the magnificent site of the mausoleum of Khoja Ahmad Yasawi continues to attract more and more crowds, the museum dedicated to the Sufi mystic is struggling to find its audience.

Credits : Novastan

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In 2021, all the houses that lined the wall of the old city of Khiva, Itchan Kala, are razed. When contacted, an architect present on site cited the presence of termites as a pretext.

Despite criticism, the Uzbek government continues to remodel tourist sites, as currently in Bukhara or Tashkent.

Credit: Isabelle Vincent (France)

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In Samarkand, a wall separates the Gur-e-Amir, from the popular district of Iskanderov in which it was located until 2009. This house narrowly escaped demolition. Despite criticism, the Uzbek government continues to remodel tourist sites, as currently in Bukhara or Tashkent.

Credits : Isabelle Vincent (France)

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A Chinese tourist taking a picture with a Uyghur hat next to an old uyghur musician in the western Chinese region of Xinjiang. Credit: The Editorial Find all of our photos of the day here.

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23 year old Ali Umarov with his son at home in Sary-Mogol after work. Ali began working in tourism in the 7th grade. His father Umar Tashbekov was the director of “CBT Sary-Mogol” where Ali is a senior mountain guide. He remembers quite well when there was no time for rest because he had to take care of the tourists. Since the COVID-19 pandemic he has to work at a coal mine as an electric welder. Ali is not satisfied with the work at the quarry where his health is in danger and hopes in the next year he can work with tourists again and leave the coal mine. Living with his parents, he married two years ago and has a child with his wife Aizirek and expects another one next year. His father Umar says that tourism was very good help to CBT and to guides, but the pandemic got in the way. His mother Neberehan is suffering from parkinson’s disease since 15 years. Ali has to earn money for his whole family.

This picture is part of the UNDP Eurasia project “Surviving a pandemic: Visual impacts of Covid-19” realised in 2020.

Credit: Danil Usmanov (Kyrgyzstan)

To learn more about Danil Usmanov and his work, check out our French or German website. We presented his work in our series “Central Asia through the lens of …”.

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Buunisa Termechikova eating pilaf with her daughter and guests at her home in Burgan-Suu village. She is director of the Ethnological museum in Sary Mogol. Her guest house is located on the opposite side of the eponymic river.

Credit : Danil Usmanov

To learn more about Danil Usmanov and his work, check out our French or German website, we presented his work on our series “Central Asia through the lens of …”.

These pictures are part of a UNDP Eurasia project “Surviving a pandemic: Visual impacts of Covid-19” realised in 2020.

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According to official statistics the number of tourists visiting Tajikistan fell by 72 per cent from 2019 to 2020.

A version of this article was published on Novastan’s French website on 23 February 2021.

Tajikistan’s latest tourism statistics reveal an undeniable conclusion: the sector has collapsed and the country’s economy is on the brink. On 12 February 2021, Tajik news outlet Asia-Plus reported that the number of visitors to the country fell to 350,000 in 2020, down 72% from 1,254,000 in 2019. The tourism sector, which in 2019 accounted for 2-2.5% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), represented only 1% of GDP in 2020.

The official statistics do not provide a breakdown of people’s reasons for visiting the country, and therefore do not distinguish between business trips and tourism. In 2019, the Tajik authorities used this loose definition to their advantage, announcing statistics that were 10 times higher than in reality. Nevertheless, the 2020 statistics represent a steep decline.

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While Tajikistan has recorded the lowest number of COVID-related deaths in Central Asia—90 registered deaths compared to 1,450 in Kyrgyzstan and 3,150 in Kazakhstan—strict measures imposed in response to COVID have taken a toll. Despite receiving $400 million in aid funding, Tajikistan has failed to indicate clear economic measures to protect against the impact of COVID-19, according to Radio Ozodi (the Tajik branch of Radio Free Europe). The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has estimated that overall economic growth was 1% in 2020, compared to a rate of 7.5% in 2019.

Signs of an exhausted economy

The collapse of the tourism industry in Tajikistan is, in reality, just one visible signpost of the country’s suffering economy. One of the poorest countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Tajikistan was already heavily dependent on foreign aid before the COVID crisis and is now facing staggering financial difficulties.

The revenue that contributes to Tajikistan’s GDP can be divided into three main economic sectors. According to 2019 World Bank statistics, agriculture generated 19% of the country’s wealth, industry and manufacturing accounted for 27%, and the “services” industry generated over 42% of GDP. In reality, the majority of the “services” category is represented by money sent home by Tajik workers living abroad—mainly in Russia.

These remittances represented 28.6% of Tajikistan’s GDP in 2019, with 70% of the Tajik population relying on these funds to survive. But with successive COVID lockdowns—particularly in Russia—the amount of money sent back to the country has drastically declined. At the same time, foreign direct investment diminished by nearly 47% in one year, as reported by Radio Ozodi. In light of these difficulties, the collapse of the tourism sector has devastated an already weakened economy.

A sector in need of development

For several years, the Tajik government has expressed the intention of developing the country’s tourism industry. Designating 2018 “the year of tourism”, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon hoped his country could overcome some of the structural difficulties that limit Tajikistan’s ability to cater to and attract foreign visitors.

Issues such as the lack of transport facilities, banking services, and high-quality accommodation outside big cities prevent Tajikistan from becoming a mainstream tourist destination. Unfortunately, these challenges are yet to be addressed by the Tajik government.

However, in April 2018, the Tajik president extended the visa-free period for foreign visitors from three to ten working days in an effort to attract tourists. Large hotel chains such as the Hyatt Regency, Hilton Hotels and Serena Hotels have established hotels in the capital Dushanbe, and 2020 saw the creation of 22 new tourist agencies in Tajikistan (now totalling 224).

Tajikistan’s high geographical elevation—with mountain peaks between 6,000 and 8,000 metres­—represents opportunities for the further development of adventure tourism, which has rapidly expanded over the past few years. The richness of Tajik poetry and folklore, and the fantastic natural landscape along the Pamir Highway also represent great tourist potential. 

Domestic tourism presents opportunities

On 26 January, the Tajik authorities announced that the country had beaten coronavirus. Health Minister Jamoliddin Abdullozoda attributed this success to government health measures, claiming that the absence of a lockdown in favour of a home quarantine program assisted in the eradication of COVID-19. This “victory” led Emomali Rahmon to announce the reopening of mosques from 1 February and may signal a wider reopening of the country.

Read more on Novastan: Is Tajikistan really free from coronavirus?

Tojiddin Jurazoda, the head of Tajikistan’s Tourism Development Committee, told Asia-Plus that reviving the tourism industry is both an opportunity and a necessity. To achieve this, new projects are being planned for 2021, including the reconstruction of the Yamchun Fort, which once guarded a strategic passage along the Silk Road between India and Iran, and the restoration of the majestic Hulbuk citadel, located in the Vose District in the south-west of the country. The Khoja Mashkhad complex, a major pilgrimage destination tentatively listed for consideration of UNESCO World Heritage status in 1999, will also be renovated in 2021 in an effort to attract believers and visitors.

Jurazoda also discussed the Committee’s plans to expand rural tourism through the establishment of hostel-style accommodation and homestays. Whether these initiatives will be enough to revive the Tajik tourist industry­—and the country’s economy with it—remains to be seen.

Caroline Deschamps
Novastan.org

Translated from French by Alice Coveney

Edited by Clare Hodgson

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The Uzbek government has announced an action plan to develop the country’s tourism industry. The new measures, targeting transport, visa requirements and taxes, are in effect since the end of February. Uzbekistan hopes to promote its tourism industry despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

This article was originally published on Novastan’s French website on 16 February 2021.

On 3 February, the Uzbek president Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a decree aiming at developing Uzbekistan’s tourism industry, as reported by the media Spot.uz. With these new measures, the most populated country in Central Asia seeks to promote domestic and international tourism by attracting both local and neighbouring visitors, all in spite of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Transport, tourist taxes, business incentives and extra days off work are among the six initiatives covered by the decree. The objective is to create an attractive environment for tourists and to strengthen the country’s image. Tourism represented 3,4% of the country’s GDP in 2020, according to the economic database Knoema.

New air and rail connections

One of the priorities is to increase the frequency and availability of transport throughout the country. Flights linking Farg’ona (Fergana) and Urgench, Termiz and Urgench, and Qarshi and Urgench were set to be launched by the end of February 2021.

The frequency of rail services between Andijon and Khiva, located respectively in the east and west of the country, will be increased. At the same time, regular services will be launched between Termiz, Qarshi and Khiva; Khiva, Urgench and Nukus; and Termiz, Qarshi and Samarkand, all set to be completed by 1 April. These new rail connections will be subsidised by the state.

Extended financial incentives

Financial incentives, introduced at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, are extended until 31 December 2021 to support the transport measures. Accordingly, the 50% reduction on income tax rate continues for travel agencies and accommodation facilities. Airline and rail ticket fees are subsidised at a rate of 30% for trips taken to Uzbekistan by groups of foreign tourists of at least 10 people, for a minimum stay of five nights in accommodation facilities.

Read more: Russia commits to railroad corridor China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan

Travel agencies and registered tourist accommodation facilities now benefit from an exoneration of property tax as well as a lower social tax, at a reduced rate of 1%. The application of penalties for unpaid taxes on foreign business relating to travellers, travel agencies and accommodation providers is also suspended until the end of 2021. However, to support infrastructure, the tourist tax will now apply to all tourists, not just foreign ones. This last measure was implemented from 1 March.

Extended visas

From 1 March, Uzbekistan has allowed citizens of Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and China to spend up to 10 days in the country without a visa. Previously, the visa-free stay was limited to 5 days. British citizens can stay in Uzbekistan for up to 30 days without a visa.

With the introduction of this new set of measures, Uzbekistan intends to improve the quality of services and to promote its tourism sector both locally and internationally. Grants and funds to improve networks, community services, quality of roads and touristic services will be made available to achieve this goal. All that’s left to do is to wait and see if these measures will have the desired effect.

Adèle Brière
Novastan.org

Translated by Alice Coveney

Edited by Joana da Silva Pina

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