There is a shortage of safe hotels and affordable rooms in the country - Marina Usenko

On February 28, Marina Usenko, a partner and head of the Hospitality and Tourism Department at Commonwealth Partnership, spoke at the ICCI business program as part of the international exhibition "Construction - UzBuild." Spot highlights the key points from her speech.

When it comes to tourism, people usually immediately turn to statistics on external and internal tourist flows.

Official statistical data for the republic since 2017 indicate a fairly explosive growth rate.

In 2019, the flow even reached a peak of 6.7 million people. And despite the fact that we all stayed home in 2020, 2022 showed a good recovery growth.

Despite the high numbers, the question remains: who are the incoming tourists, and what role do they play in the development of the industry?

Thus, 97% of all tourists are citizens of neighboring countries: Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Russia. And only the remaining 3% of foreigners come from far abroad.

Citizens of these countries consistently account for 90-95% of incoming tourists year after year.

At the same time, according to our data, 80% of people answer border officials that the purpose of their entry is to visit friends and relatives. Accordingly, the majority of them do not stay in hotels.

Another significant portion of border crossers indicate labor migration or cross-border trade as the purpose of their trip, and only a small percentage enter the country with tourism intentions.

The category of visitors traveling for personal reasons is extremely price-sensitive, often opting for individual accommodations (apartments, private houses — Spot's note). Meanwhile, another category, those visiting the country on business trips, spends company money and, therefore, manages their budget more freely, choosing collective accommodations (hotels, inns, etc. — Spot's note).

Thus, markets dependent on tourism have less capacity for further development, which is why they require more hotels of the so-called tourist class and standard.

Lack of Security

Typically, two categories of people stay in hotels — those visiting the country for sightseeing and those on business trips. According to our data, there were a record nearly half a million such visitors in 2019.

Of these, 97% chose collective accommodations, while 3% opted for private apartments and houses. However, there is room for error here, as private property owners sometimes operate in the gray market.

It is important to note that 91% of the nearly 22,000 rooms are a legacy of the Soviet era. Some were built in the post-Soviet period, and less than 10% are located in chain hotels.

Chain hotels stand out from the general pool because they are usually considered modern-quality hotels: they are built to meet the requirements of contemporary travelers and comply with all quality accommodation standards, regardless of their star rating.

Moreover, they are absolutely safe for staying, and for global chain operators, safety is a cornerstone. All guests in a hotel must be as protected as possible from unforeseen and dangerous situations, including natural disasters.

And it is precisely such hotels that Uzbekistan still lacks.

However, not everything is so bleak, as this year, about 3,000 new rooms are set to be added. Of these, 2,000 are under construction in Tashkent, while the remaining ones will appear in historic cities like Bukhara and Samarkand.

This indicates where the heart of Uzbekistan's tourism infrastructure is beating today.

In this regard, we see two paths: developing the capital as a hub of financial and economic activity and fostering the growth of the regions, particularly the Silk Road cities.

Lack of Affordable Rooms

The shortage of three-star hotel rooms is quite understandable and explainable.

New markets like Tashkent typically develop in a similar pattern: initially, central sites are developed, where the most expensive hotels appear, and only later does attention shift to other types of properties.

However, the government is partially to blame for the lack of affordable hotels, as until recently, it provided financial incentives to developers for constructing four-star and higher-rated properties.

At the same time, simply ramping up the rapid construction of affordable hotel spaces over a short period will not suffice. Moreover, this carries certain risks, such as market oversaturation and price wars.

Instead, it is necessary to change the structure of demand, which depends not only on developers and investors but also largely on government initiatives.

First and foremost, it is important to evenly distribute the event calendar throughout the year.

Today, visitors come to Tashkent predominantly in spring or autumn by default. These periods are the most comfortable for tourists to stay in the country. However, during the same time, visiting businesspeople also arrive. As a result, the market faces an excess demand. Meanwhile, for a large number of months in the year, the hotel industry is simply idle.

There is a solution: first, in addition to the business event calendar, a tourism event calendar needs to be created to attract people not only from Monday to Thursday but also on weekends when hotels remain underutilized.

Second, it is worth considering organizing events during the winter and summer seasons.

For example, one can look at Moscow's experience. A cold and "business-oriented" city has transformed into a desirable weekend getaway destination, particularly for domestic tourists.

According to Uzbekistan's official statistics on domestic tourist flow, the figure consistently fluctuates between 2 million and 2.5 million citizens year after year.

I believe it is crucial to focus on this tourist flow, attempting to attract it through various events, new projects, and activities.

However, to draw citizens from the regions to the capital, it is necessary to expand the supply of affordable hotels to ensure a comfortable stay.

Source: Spot.uz