The Agency or Statistics under the President of Tajikistan (Agency) says more than 410,000 foreign nationals visited Tajikistan last year, which is 909,000 people fewer than in 2019.
The Agency notes that in accordance with the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) methodology, more than 350,000 of those foreign nationals are estimated as tourists. Compared to 2019, the number of foreign tourists reportedly fall 72.2 percent.
According to the Agency, about 332,000 citizens of the CIS nations and 18,500 citizens of other foreign countries visited Tajikistan last year as tourists.
The majority of foreign nationals who visited the country in 2020 are citizens of the CIS member nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Uzbekistan and citizens of Afghanistan, China, India, Iran and the United States.
Meanwhile, 740,000 Tajik nationals traveled to other countries last year, which is 33 percent fewer than in 2019. An overwhelming majority of them traveled mostly to the Russian Federation as labor migrants.
Last year, the number of tour operators reportedly increased in Tajikistan by 54. 215 tour operators now function in the country.
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.
