Project Promoter: Informest, Italy

Local Partner: Uzbektourism, Tashkent

Project duration: 18 mesi: Aprile 2004 - Giugno 2005

Italian partner: Marco Polo Institute

Project objectives the project aims at providing technical assistance to the Uzbek Ministry for Tourism in order to foster tourism flows between Italy and Uzbekistan . This objective is pursued by way of a territory mapping and a tourist marketing plan, carried out by a team of Italian experts. The project activities will be concluded by two promotion events to be held both in Italy and in Uzbekistan .

This activity aims at exploring and investigating the situation of tourist resources in Uzbekistan in order to pinpoint existing projects and elaborate adequate marketing actions. The formula that could be used for this phase is: "you need to know to operate".

The first phase is split into two main levels

1.1  Analysis of the territory

A team of Italian experts shall map the Uzbek tourist system by way of desk analysis and interviews with tour operators, politicians, economic operators, opinion leaders. In particular, the following elements will be singled out::

•  Artistic and cultural resources;

•  Transport system;

•  Tourist infrastructures;

•  Human and intellectual resources;

•  Relations with Italian counterparts (both at institutional and at commercial level);

•  Analysis of national and international tourist flows between the two countries and in/to the two countries;

•  Qualitative analysis of demand

1.2  Analysis of the actions planned in the tourist sector

•  Analysis of tourism attraction projects already approved and/or carried out in Uzbekistan;

•  State-of-the-art analysis of the existing projects in Uzbekistan , with particular regard to the different intervention areas;

•  Evaluation of the most successful and impressive elements;

•  Assessment of the strong and weak points.

1.3  Definition of the strategic guidelines and action priorities

According to the results of the analysis, a synthetic document is prepared, containing the strategic guidelines and action priorities for the different intervention areas.

PHASE 2. Tourist marketing plan

This activity can be split into three different moments:

A. Planning of possibile tourist packages

B. Feasibility evaluation and action plan

C. Marketing plan and communication guidelines

A.  The planning activities can be summed up as follows:

•  Definition of ecological routes that enable travellers to make an "historic and cultural itinerary";

•  Creation of tourist packages according to the different demand segments, prepared striving to integrate the various tour operators;

•  Planning of annual cultural events aimed at exploiting the tourist routes identified;

•  Planning of interventions aimed at re-launching some areas.

B.  On the basis of the above mentioned potential initiatives the following activities will be performed:

•  Pre-feasibility technical, organisational, economic and financial analysis of the possible actions;

•  Design of action plans

•  Identification and selection of the potential territorial and extra-territorial actors to involve to make the initiative succeed;

C.  Communication, promotion and distribution actions :

planning of marketing and communication actions for final clients, institutions, opinion leaders in Italy and abroad, in order to attract tourist flows and financial resources to Uzbekistan .

PHASE 3. Promotion of tourist interchange between Italy and Uzbekistan and dissemination

3.1. Creation of a Web Portal

Planning and technical realisation of the Portal

Planning and realisation of an information Portal in Italian and English language to promote the project and its related activities.

3.2  Organisation of public events in Italy and Uzbekistan

Conference in Italy

A conference will be organised in Italy in order to inform on project objectives and activities. It will be an occasion to present Uzbekistan tourist potential and to promote meetings between Uzbektourism personnel and the Italian economic and tour operators

Conference in Uzbekistan

Before the conclusion of the project a conference will be held in Uzbekistan . From one side it will be a diplomatic meeting aimed at strengthening the collaboration between the two countries; from the other side it will be the occasion, for tour operators and economic actors, to make a business mission so as to define their role within the Uzbek Government strategy.