Sustainable Destination Management
Strategies in the OIC Member Countries
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The Turkic Council’s Modern Silk Road, joint tour package project, aims to a) raise awareness
of the historical and cultural heritage of the Silk Road in the Turkic Council member states and
across the region, b) prepare the cities of the member states in line with new trends in tourism
and empower them to become appealing touristic stops, c) contribute to the training of tourism
employees from the Turkic Council member states in the needed sectors, d) support the
generation of projects to turn the Silk Road into a well-structured and famous tourist
destination, and e) facilitate experience sharing among the member states for the development
of Silk Road Tourism.429
Corridor Governance and Management
Legislation and legal framework. There is no special tourism legislation between the
neighboring countries. The general legislation regarding the borders and citizenship is
currently being used. The Central Asian territory is easy to cross, but visas and borders create
problems. If governments and NTOs worked together to simplify these challenges, unique joint
projects could be generated in Central Asian countries. Silk Visa may become the first such
example. Its process is now in incubation, but it could take a long time to create border control
legislation in the relevant countries.430
Sustainability monitoring and auditing. In 2013, UNWTO launched its first Silk Road Action
Plan Survey, with the goal of enabling the NTOs in member states to give their feedback and
proposals on future activities and priorities. The results of previous surveys were collected in
the next action plan editions.431
However, sustainability as a concept and approach has not yet been implemented in any of
the Central Asian countries at the government level. Both government tourism officials and
the private sector need serious training on sustainability criteria application to start using it
in their work.432
Facilitation of visas and border procedures. According to TripAdvisor Travel Trends for the
Silk Road 2017, 47% of travelers would be more likely to travel to the Central Asian region if
they only needed a single visa for a trip to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan.433
GosComTourism is actively cooperating with Kazakh Tourism and the Department of Tourism
(Kyrgyzstan) on the Silk Road concept. It aims to stimulate a synergistic effect by including
neighbor’s proposals concerning each other’s routes, itineraries, and promotional materials,
especially for long-haul trans-continental tourist markets.434
Opening two more cross-border points between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan makes combined
tours much easier and more comfortable, as two years ago, there was only one border-crossing,
and today, there are three open cross-border points. Additionally, a visa-free policy (up to 30
days) opens up travel possibilities for the citizens of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Positive
429 "Modern Silk Road Joint Tour Package: An Innovative Project to Empower Silk Road Tourism by Turkic Council," UNWTO,
accessed October 13, 2019,
430 Interview with Director of Silk Road Destinations DMO
431 "Silk Road Action Plan 2014/2015".
432 Email correspondence with former head of UNWTO Silk Road Programme, Silk Road specialist on sustainable tourism
development
433 "Tripadvisor Travel Trends for the Silk Road 2017," UNWTO, last modified 2017,
434 Interview with Head of the Department of Scientific Research and Work with Educational Institutions of GosComTourism