KHUJAND, June 11, 2009, Asia-Plus — The first familiarization tour of the tourist zone Yaghnob-Mastchoh in the northern Sughd province is expected to take place in mid-June. Tourist infrastructure in that area has been created by the Khujand-based NGO “Agency Support Development Process NAU” (ASDP NAU) in partnership with the German Agro Action (GAA) in Tajikistan.
Speaking in an interview with Asia-Plus, Payrav Masaidov, the manager of the Community Based Tourism Project in Zeravshan Valley, said that journalists and representatives of local authorities and international organizations active in the country would be the first visitors of that tourism zone.
The project costing 278,800 euros has covered Ayni, Kuhistoni Mastchoh and Panjakent districts.
Masaidov said that six Tourism Initiative Groups had been set up from among residents of 15 target villages in the Zeravshan Valley by the end of 2008. 16 guest houses have been built with support of them in Iskandarkul, Haftkul, Alauddin lakes, Yaghnob, Veshab and Langar. Besides, two Tourism Information Centers and Marketing Center have been established in Ayni and Panjakent and cooperation has been established with tour agencies in Dushanbe, Tashkent, Khiva and Stuttgart.
The mountain ranges of the Zeravshan Valley offer a big natural potential for mountain tourism. During Soviet time, up to 50.000 trekkers, alpinists and visitors of cultural sites were sent to the area by the governmental tourist company (Intourist) annually. However, with the break-down of the Soviet Union, tourism stagnated and existing tourist services were not longer maintained. The civil war in the early nineties brought tourism to a complete hold. Since then, the security situation in the country has stabilized, and now the number of tourists is slowly on the rise again. Local villagers in the rural mountainous area may profit from development of the tourism sector. But existing tourist services will have to be improved and new services are needed.
The overall objective of the Community Based Tourism Project in Zeravshan Valley is the revitalization of tourism as a viable economic sector in Tajikistan”s Zeravshan Valley in an effort to diversify sources of income of the valley”s inhabitants. The specific objectives are the following: A community driven tourism network is attracting and serving rising numbers of tourists and has become a source of revenue for the local population in 6 pilot areas. Tourism development in the Zerafshan Valley follows an integrated and sustainable pattern, which is adapted to local society, culture and the fragile environment. The results from the pilot villages provide clear indicators on the strength and weakness of the various components and strategic guidance prior to geographic expansion.
The regional NGO ASDP NAU was founded in 1999 at the small town Nau. The main objective of NAU is to increase the standard of living for the rural population. The head office of the organization is situated in Khujand, but there also exist offices, where the project takes place: in the Zeravshan valley and the Ayni region. The DED (German Development Service) specialist supports ASDP NAU in building up a Tourist Association, opening of two Tourist Information Centers, professional training for local partners as well as in developing and implementing a marketing strategy.
