DUSHANBE, April 19, 2011, Asia-Plus — Some 60,000 tourists from 60 countries have visited Tajikistan in January-March this year, Lochin Fayzulloyev, the deputy head of the Committee for Youth, Sports and Tourism Affairs under the Government of Tajikistan, said in an interview with Asia-Plus.
“Tourists from Iran, Afghanistan, Russia, the United States, China, Germany, Japan, France, South Korea and some other countries have visited our country over the report period,” said Fayzulloyev, “According to estimates of international experts, each foreign tourist spends on average US$500 during stay in our country. Hence, one may say that the tourism sector has attracted at least US$29.4 million in the country’s economy over this three-month period.”
He says five new companies have been granted license for tourism activity since the beginning of the year, bringing a total number of tourist companies operating in Tajikistan to 167.
Citizens of more than 70 countries reportedly visited Tajikistan last year. “In 2010, 207,000 foreign citizens visited the country; 160,000 of them arrived in Tajikistan on tourist visa,” Fayzulloyev said.
