On November 17, was held the International Conference "Main Directions and Opportunities for Tourism Development in Turkmenistan", organized by the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of the country. The online forum was attended by representatives of a number of foreign travel companies interested in building up cooperation with Turkmen colleagues.
The agenda of the International Conference discussed the role of entrepreneurship, education and innovation in tourism, as well as the main directions of historical, cultural and ecological tourism. Thanks to the efforts of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the country's tourism sector has reached a completely different level.
As noted in his report, member of the board of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Kerim Akmammedov, since 2019, the tourism industry of Turkmenistan has completely transferred to the private sector. During this time, private travel agencies were opened in the country, high-class hotels were put into operation, and favorable conditions were created for the development of domestic tourism.
Continuing the meeting, Deputy Director for Tourism of the Ministry of Culture of Turkmenistan Gulshat Bakiyeva emphasized active cooperation with international tourism organizations, focusing on the tourism potential of our country.
Being an important connecting point on the route of the Great Silk Road, Turkmenistan has been called the “intersection of seven roads” since ancient times. There are more than two thousand unique architectural monuments in the country, including those listed in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Turkmenistan is a country of contrasts, attracting travelers from all over the world with its diversity, rich cultural and historical heritage and natural beauties, including the Sumbar valleys, the Archman and Mollakara balneological resort, the mysterious Kov-ata lake, the Avaza national tourist zone and much more. As if nature itself took care of the development of ecological tourism, which has become the most popular today.
The topic of strengthening the connection between people and nature was raised by the executive secretary of the National Commission of Turkmenistan for UNESCO, Chinar Rustamova. Currently, within the framework of the international Program "Man and the Biosphere" of UNESCO, the possibility of including mud volcanoes on the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea in the UNESCO World Heritage List is being considered. With the support of the head of state, a national dossier is being developed to include the mountain ecosystem of Koytendag in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Representatives of travel agencies of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Canada, China and Japan shared their views on cooperation with Turkmen travel companies. The head of the Austrian-Turkmen society, Dr. Neda Berger, spoke with great enthusiasm about Turkmenistan, Austria and the development of mutual tourist routes.
In recent years, tourism as an industry has experienced difficulties in the movement of travelers. During the conference, foreign colleagues and representatives of Turkmen travel companies expressed their hope for an early resumption of international tourist trips.
