Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 1 June, under the auspices of the World Tourism Organization of the United Nations (UNWTO), an online conference entitled “Path to Recovery”, initiated by Uzbekistan, was held, Dunyo news agency reported.

The event was attended by Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Tourism Development Aziz Abdukhakimov, UNWTO Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili, heads of tourism agencies of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan as well as the permanent representatives of these countries accredited to the UNWTO in Madrid.

The head of the Uzbek delegation informed the participants about the modern development of the tourism sector in Uzbekistan, the unprecedented measures taken by the country's leadership to stimulate the growth of the tourism industry, including the Decree of the head of our state “On urgent measures to support the tourism sector to reduce the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic” from 28 May. It was emphasized that in accordance with this document enormous preferences, benefits and subsidies will be provided to national suppliers of tourist services.

It was noted that in order to develop the right and effective strategy for the restoration of tourism in Uzbekistan, the recommendations of the UNWTO, the World Health Organization, the opinions of international experts and the experience of foreign countries were carefully studied.

Participants were informed that at present Uzbekistan was the first among the CIS countries to resume domestic tourism. To ensure the safety of tourists, a new system “Uzbekistan safe travel guaranteed” was developed, and a special insurance fund for safe tourism was created. All this is designed to ensure a safe and comfortable stay of tourists in Uzbekistan.

The participants of the online conference, in turn, also shared information on measures taken in their countries to support tourism and mitigate the socio-economic consequences of COVID-19, shared best practices in creating effective strategies for restoring the tourism industry.

Speeches showed that the algorithm of actions of many countries is identical and aimed at the speedy restoration of the tourism industry. It was noted that the main directions in the development of further actions should be safe tourism, the promotion of domestic tourism and tax incentives.