Expert: • Tourism in Tajik way. What our country lucks for the true hospitality?

According to research of the World economic forum in Davos “the countries most attractive to tourism”, from 124 countries presented to research, Tajikistan has occupied 110th place. Thus we have left behind only such countries as: Paraguay, Madagascar, Malawi, Nigeria, Benin …

The rating was estimated by 13 criteria: value which authorities of the country give to tourist branch; a degree of development and quality of a transport infrastructure; presence of modern hotels and preparation of the personnel; sanitary conditions in the country; the prices for rest; safety and political stability; national colour, a cultural heritage; ecology.

It has appeared that from all set of forth above qualities in Tajikistan only last three are more or less attractive...

In the world market of tourism the Republic of Tajikistan, despite of the sufficient tourist potential, (presence of unique monuments of a cultural heritage-historical, and also nature-recreational features of the republic), takes the insignificant place, and accordingly on its share is necessary a small part of a world tourist stream.

Accepted by the governmental order of the Republic of Tajikistan State Program of development of tourism in Tajikistan for the period 2004-2009 though has given the certain positive tendencies in questions of revival of the industry of tourism, however as a whole as shows the analysis, today the effect from its realization is insufficient. The program basically covers prime problems of maintenance of steady development of tourist branch, as priority sector of economy of republic, but quality of its realization from responsible structures and insufficient budgetary financing are those factors which negatively influence today a level of its realization. The basic part of financing of the Program has been calculated on attraction, first of all, of foreign and domestic investments, however for the period of its acceptance were not observed direct investments into an infrastructure of branch.

The analysis of a modern condition of entrance and internal tourism in the country specifies an insufficient level of its development, both on qualitative and quantitative characteristics.

In the republic function more than 120 objects of tourist and sanatorium orientation, including more than 50 hotels, 9 sanatoria, and also - houses and zones of rest, tourist centers, improving camp, however the level of work of the majority of these objects mismatches in a due measure to modern requirements of the organization of reception.

Today in the republic 130 travel agencies are totaled, from them function only 50 %, others - at a stage of construction. For six months of the current year Tajikistan have left about 8 thousand Tajik tourists. Trips abroad are the most different - Europe, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and other countries, but basically those are shop tours.

Last year the country has visited more than 30 thousand foreign tourists, including more than 250 climbers. However it is not enough so that the given branch became rather profitable. In 2007 the income in the budget of the country from the tourist industry has made 7 million somoni, which, as a matter of fact, became the scanty contribution to total amount of a profitable part of the budget of the country. If we want the appreciable contribution to economy from sphere of tourism, the republic should accept in the nearest years two-three} times more of tourists (only Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan annually accept more than one million tourists).

By estimation of experts, incomes of mountaineering could make up to 15-20 % to gross national product of the country, and today they even do not make one percent, as on a way of tourists to Tajikistan raise various, at times insuperable barrier and difficulties.

Tajikistan is the most expensive country for tourists?

Tajikistan today is one of the most expensive countries to tourists. On cost of only flight to Tajikistan and back average European, the American or the Russian can get the fortnight permit to Turkey or Thailand “all is included”. To professionals and fans of mountaineering from the Europe, which basic contingent are citizens of Germany, Spain, Portugal, France and some of the CIS countries, the trip to Pamir costs about 4 - 4,5 thousand US dollars per person. To reach to bottom of Pamir it is possible only by helicopter, for what tourists should spend considerable sum of money. Each foreigner besides, having arrived to the republic, pays for the visa and registration, pays an ecological payment at a rate of 1 dollar per day, should pay expensive road to Pamir - 2,5 thousand dollars because this is the cost of helicopter per hour. For example, to reach Moskvin's glade and back about 4 hours are necessary. And conquest of tops of Pamir - is far not free-of-charge pleasure. On mountain above 6 thousand meters the foreigner should pay for each ascention in treasury of the state of 100 dollars, below 6 thousand - 50 dollars. All these charges and paper delays together taken discourage of many tourists to visit Tajikistan. Not even one CIS country, even the next central-Asian republics which try to develop tourism, have no such requisitions, as us. Therefore many tourists prefer to go to Hindu Kush or to Pobeda peak to Kyrgyzstan, to Tibet - on more serious and more developed infrastructure, where helicopter is not so expensive as in Tajikistan and no such requisitions.

No conditions for rest

Recently some experts express that there are certain kinds of tourism for which it is not obligatory to develop an infrastructure. That is the republic can offer foreigners what is not present at travel companies of the popular tourist countries, so-called “wild” rest, which assumes absolutely extreme kinds of rest and does not demand significant expenses: rural or ecological tourism. It will be interesting to foreigners to arrive to Tajikistan and to get acquainted with a life and customs of our country, to live in traditional Tajik conditions. But these experts do not consider that foreign tourists have their own opinion on this matter. Before going to Tajikistan foreign tourists study in the Internet this country, its economic, cultural parameters. On the Internet it is possible to find out a lot about our republic. For example, that we, in the country of mountains have ski lines and the most nearest to capital is in Òakob, but there is nothing on the Internet that there is no “first class” service. Having arrived, tourists find out, that even in some good boarding houses we do not have hot water and the water drain does not work.

Everything solve staff

Separate attention deserves the system of preparation in the republic of young sportsmen - rock-climbers. All goes to that in some years there will be no one to take foreign tourists on the Tajik mountains. There are numbers of guides and instructors on mountaineering in the republic. The federation of mountaineering, rock-climbing constantly is engaged in attraction to mountaineering of students and schoolboys. But not all of them wish to connect the life with this kind of sports. Seeing, in what pitiable condition is a branch, young men consider it unpromising. And they work on naked enthusiasm.

With development of the tourist market the need for qualified personnel increases in the republic. Now in higher educational institutions of the republic (the Tajik State National University, the Tajik State Pedagogical University, the State Commercial University, the Tajik branch of the Russian Academy of Tourism) are trained on a speciality of “economy of the international tourism” over 400 students, and the future tour operators, experts of a hotel facilities study in branches of tourism in the Tajik State Institute of Arts by the name of M. Tursunzade and in the Institute of Business and Service. But, unfortunately, often young staff, graduates of these higher educational institutions - are not professionals.

Minuses of the Tajik tourism

In spite of the fact that last years in our country a lot of attention is given development of tourism, still there are significant complexities: imperfect legislative base of tourist branch and, first of all, of the Law of the Republic of Tajikistan “About tourism”; insufficient national tourist infrastructure and mismatching modern requirements and significant technical deterioration of an existing material resources, small quantity of hotel means of accommodation of middle class with a modern level of comfort, and also discrepancy of the price and quality of accommodation in operating hotels and objects of reception; not ordered system of the organization of entrance and exit tourism in the country and poor quality of service in all sectors of the tourist industry; not effective advertising-information work on promotion of a national tourist product on a foreign market of tourist services; absence of advertising of tourist opportunities of the country abroad; weak material and educational base for personnel maintenance of branch; practical absence of state financing and work on attraction of investments into branch; insufficient management, both in the tourist industry, and in adjacent with it branches; absence of preconditions for development of social tourism, including children and so forth. But by effective development and competent promotion on the world markets of tourist services, Tajikistan can provide a significant stream of foreign tourists into the republic that will be positively reflected in financial receipts in the budget of the state, employment of the population, reduction of a level of poverty, and also on strengthening of image of the republic as the country favorable for the international tourism.

Tatyana Shoeva, Information Agency “Asia-plus”