Sustainable Destination Management
Strategies in the OIC Member Countries
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in the low season and to areas that are less popular and more sparsely populated. A full catalog
of what Uzbekistan and its tourist centers offer for MICE tourism is currently being developed.
According to the last presidential decree (13th August 2019), all governmental event
dates/periods will be preliminary coordinated with GosComTourism, and it is GosComTourism
that will suggest the low season dates for their events. The intention of this is to contribute to
tourism business development, as this new type of planning will help DMOs to settle the
problem of a lack of hotel rooms in the short tourism season and for hotels to increase their
yearly average occupancy rate.463
Mediums of communication. GosComTourism communicates with businesses, local
governments, and local communities around all the regions of Uzbekistan through 40 regional
departments. Each department communicates with the public through their own Instagram
and Facebook accounts and websites. 464
Nevertheless, the head of DMO from Samarkand doesn’t find communication between the
different tourism stakeholders, coordinated by GosComTourism (especially by its regional
offices), effective enough. Moreover, GosComTourism tries to push/coordinate the associations
of travel agencies and hoteliers, but there is no communication or relationship between these
associations. If GosComTourism can create a place where all tourism stakeholders can easily
communicate, this will contribute to the development of tourism much more than
unsynchronized activities. 465
In Kazakhstan, an internal information system is used between state bodies as well as email
exchanges or video conferences when speaking to remote regions. WhatsApp is used even at
the government level, and many WhatsApp groups are used for instant communication. Kazakh
Tourism is also utilizing the infrastructure of the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs – the
biggest business union, called Atameken, to communicate with the private sector. This non-
governmental body represents the interests of businesses, who are paid members. Atameken
has branches in different regions and industries, and they have regional reporters. Atameken
spreads relevant information efficiently through their regional offices, which can contact
businesses directly on the ground. The communication between Kazakh Tourism and
Atameken is close and conducted through video conference calls. Kazakh Tourism will also
open regional sub-offices in Almaty and in all of the top ten prospective destinations the
government decided on. 466
In Kyrgyzstan, there is an Interdepartmental Commission for Tourism Development, in which
different stakeholders and governmental structures address topical issues at least once a
quarter, as well as those that require prompt solutions. Meetings are held under the
chairmanship of the Vice Prime Minister who oversees tourism.467
Capacity building, education, and training. Education, training, and research are defined by
UNWTO as key factors in ensuring the sustainability and competitiveness of tourism
463 Interview with Head of the Department of Scientific Research and Work with Educational Institutions of GosComTourism
464 Ibid.
465 Interview with Director of Silk Road Destinations DMO
466 Interview with Deputy Chairman of the Board of Kazakh Tourism
467 Interview with Deputy Director of the Department of Tourism, the Ministry of Culture, Information and Tourism of
Kyrgyzstan