Online Meeting “Tourism Potential of Karakalpakstan: New Opportunities and Challenges”
On 16 June 2021, an online one-day meeting “Tourism Potential of Karakalpakstan: New Opportunities and Challenges” will be held in Tashkent and Nukus to discuss the tourism potential of the Republic of Karakalpakstan. The meeting is organized by the UNESCO Tashkent Office in close cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Uzbekistan in the framework of the project “Addressing human insecurities in the Aral Sea region through promoting sustainable rural development”*.
The meeting will focus on global tourism trends in the post-COVID period and opportunities for promoting the tourism potential of Karakalpakstan. It is the first in a series of project activities aimed at raising the awareness of the cultural and natural heritage of Karakalpakstan at international and national levels.
Karakalpakstan can offer both domestic and international tourists authentic, unknown and uncrowded travel destinations. From en eco-journey to the Aral Sea to a visit to the State Museum of Arts named after I. Savitsky in Nukus, Karakalpakstan’s rich heritage includes culture and traditions with unique features distinct from other regions of Uzbekistan. It is for this reason that the full range of tourism offers in the region must be explored and infrastructure and services improved to contribute to the development of sustainable tourism in Karakalpakstan.
The meeting, involving national stakeholders in tourism and culture of Karakalpakstan, will be facilitated by Ms Alla Peresolova, an international expert on sustainable tourism and Silk Road specialist (Spain), Mr Kevin Harris, a travel marketing specialist (United Kingdom), and Mr John Bell, a journalist and tourism specialist (United Kingdom).
The online meeting will be followed by a two-day practical training on “Media and Tourism: New Approaches for Development” which will take place on 23-24 June 2021, in Nukus, Karakalpakstan, as well as by practical sessions (online incubator) on teaching and the creation of media content on tourism and the cultural and natural heritage of Karakalpakstan, to be held between 30 June and 6 August 2021.
*The UNDP and UNESCO joint project “Addressing human insecurities in the Aral Sea region through promoting sustainable rural development” is funded by UN Multi-Partner Human Security Trust Fund for the Aral Sea region in Uzbekistan (MPHSTF).
The aim of the project is to address the environmental, social and economic insecurities in the most vulnerable communities of the Aral Sea region through comprehensive solutions in addressing the environmental issues, promoting access to basic services, improving the living standards and developing sustainable tourism in Karakalpakstan. Moreover, the project’s objective is to enhance the social wellbeing of the rural population, including women and youth, through expanding income generation opportunities and promoting inclusive sustainable growth of the tourism sector in Karakalpakstan, built on community-based and eco-tourism in the Aral Sea region.