Tourist Industry Hampered by Poor Infrastructure

The number of tourists travelling to Tajikistan doubled last year, but NBCentralAsia experts say the country’s tourism industry is still lagging behind its neighbours because of poor infrastructure and inadequate marketing.



Tajik companies will be exhibiting in an international tourism fair in Bishkek in late May, and event which the state committee for youth, sport and tourism sees as an opportunity to showcase the country and its potential.



Although the number of foreign tourists doubled from 15,000 to 29,700 last year, Bakhtiyor Hamdamov, deputy head of the committee, said the country could attract far more.



Tajikistan remains off the beaten track compared with neighbouring Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, which receive around a million tourists every year.



The main attractions are mountaineering, eco-tourism and hunting trips, but Hamdamov says the underdeveloped infrastructure and the failure to advertise these attractions means that tourist numbers are unlikely to grow by more than three per cent a year.



The Pamir mountains in the east are Tajikistan’s biggest attraction. But the director of a Tajik tourist firm who asked to remain anonymous said bureaucracy is a major hurdle for anyone wanting to visit. For example, visitors have to register with the authorities in each district of the Badakhshan autonomous region that they visit.



In addition to an “eco-tax” of one US dollar a day, mountaineers have to pay 50 dollars if they go above 3,000 metres and 100 dollars if they climb over 6,000 metres. The red tape can become a bit of a joke, said the travel executive, when a car stops at the top of a 3,000 metre mountain pass, and the passengers get out for a breath of fresh air – and then get asked to show their climbing permits.



Shagarf Mulloabdolov, director of Pamir Silk Tour firm, says Tajikistan has to work on its image, “We should ensure we have proper advertising so that tourists decide they specifically want to come to Tajikistan.”



Umed Naimov, head of the Centre for Tourism Development, says the reason there is no big influx of visitors is because the standard of service remains low. Local tour operators do not have adequately trained staff or the right business skills to meet expectations.



Sadullo Hasanov, director of the Pamir Travel company, said that despite the shortcomings in the industry, services have been gradually improving over the past few years with hotels being built and new tours becoming available.



(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)