The UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) experts named the countries, which have the highest tourist flow growth rate.
Tajikistan took the first line in the list. In 2018, the tourist flow in Tajikistan reportedly grew by 190 percent
Ecuador (51 percent increase), Egypt (36.8 percent increase), Tuvalu (35.5 percent increase) and Uganda (31.9 percent increase) are also among the top five countries.
Besides, UNWTO has published the list of twenty most visited countries of the world. France (93.2 million tourists), Spain (82.8 million tourists), the United States (82.2 million tourists), China (62.9 million tourists) and Italy (62.1 million tourists) are among the top five most visited countries.
Tajikistan’s rich cultural heritage, hospitality and abundance of mountain snow peaks, rivers, lakes and recreational opportunities contribute to the development of country’s tourism industry. In 2018, Tajik Government announced a year of tourism development. The tourism sector is considered a priority for the development of Tajikistan’s economy. At the same time, undeveloped infrastructure and low levels of quality of services delay the growth of the tourism industry.
Export.gov says that according to the World Travel and Tourism Council, the direct contribution of Travel and Tourism to Tajikistan’s gross domestic product (GDP) is forecasted to rise by 3.9% from 2018-2028 to US$316.5 million or 2.5 per cent of total GDP in 2028. The total contribution of Travel and Tourism to GDP is forecasted to rise by 4.4% to US$883.1 million or 6.9 per cent to GDP in 2028. Travel and Tourism investment is expected to rise 6.2 per cent in next ten years to 2028, reaching US$165.7 million.
Over the first three months of this year, more than 215,000 foreign tourists have visited Tajikistan, Numon Abdughafforzoda, the head of the Tourism Development Agency under the Government of Tajikistan, told Asia-Plus in an interview in early May. .
The tourism season starts in the country in May and the number of foreign tourists visiting Tajikistan will gradually increase, Abdughafforzoda added .
According to the statistical data from the Tourism Development Agency, 1.155 million foreign tourists visited Tajikistan last year, which was 2.6 times more than in 2017.
