Over the first six months of this year, more than 219 foreign tourists, including 195,000 citizens of the CIS member nations, have visited Tajikistan, which is 59 percent fewer than in the same period last year, Tojiddin Jurazoda, the head of the Tourism Development Committee under the Government of Tajikistan, told reporters in Dushanbe on July 26.
133,000 citizens of Uzbekistan (68 percent), more than 49,000 of nationals of the Russian Federation (25 percent), more than 11,000 citizens of Afghanistan as well as from 2,000 to 6,000 citizens of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and China have visited Tajikistan over the reporting period, Jurazoda noted.
According to him, nationals of the United States and European countries accounted for only 11 percent foreign tourist who visited the country in January-June this year.
“Compared to the same period of last year, the number of tourists from Iran and Turkey has also decreased,” the Tourism Development Committee head
He further noted that the share of tourism in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) has fallen from 2.0 to 1.0 percent.
“However, we plan to increase the share of tourism in the country’s GDP to 5.0 percent by 2030,” Jurazoda added.
Recall, more than 410,000 foreign nationals reportedly visited Tajikistan last year, which is 909,000 people fewer than in 2019.
The Agency for Statistics under the President of Tajikistan noted last year that in accordance with the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) methodology, more than 350,000 of those foreign nationals are estimated as tourists. Compared to 2019, the number of foreign tourists last year reportedly fall 72.2 percent.
Tajikistan’s rich cultural heritage, hospitality and abundance of mountain snow peaks, rivers, lakes and recreational opportunities contribute to the development of country’s tourism industry. In 2018, Tajik Government announced a year of tourism development. The tourism sector is considered a priority for the development of Tajikistan’s economy. At the same time, undeveloped infrastructure and low levels of quality of services delay the growth of the tourism industry.
Source: Asia-Plus