Title: Managing Tourism Development in the International Services Economy: The Economic Potential of Uzbekistan
Authors: Firyuza Galimova, Nilufar Dekhkanova
Volume: 10
Issue: 5
Pages: 178-183
Publication Date: 2026/05/28
Abstract:
This paper examines the place of tourism in the international services economy and, against that background, assesses the economic potential of Uzbekistan. Tourism is treated not as a single activity but as a complex system of services that links transport, accommodation, catering, culture, information technology, and regional infrastructure, and that takes part in international trade through the movement of consumers and providers rather than the shipment of goods. Drawing on data from the World Tourism Barometer and the official tourism statistics of Uzbekistan, the study traces the rapid post-pandemic recovery of global tourism - around 1.4 billion international arrivals and USD 1.9 trillion in tourism-related exports in 2024, followed by a record performance in 2025 - and sets the country's rising tourist flows within this context. In 2025 Uzbekistan recorded roughly 11.7 million inbound tourist trips, an increase of 46.8 per cent over the previous year, yet about two-thirds of these trips were made to visit relatives. The paper also reviews the legal and policy framework that the state has built around tourism since 2019. The analysis argues that the central task for national tourism policy is no longer simply to raise the number of arrivals but to upgrade the structure of demand by developing higher-value segments - leisure, cultural, pilgrimage, gastronomic, ecological, and business tourism - supported by infrastructure that reaches beyond the main heritage cities. The argument is framed through the economics of services trade and the tourism multiplier, which together explain why the composition of demand matters as much as its volume.