A tourism research agenda for Uzbekistan

Abstract

Uzbekistan is an emerging tourism destination that has experienced a strong increase in tourist numbers since 2017. However, as little research on tourism development in Uzbekistan exists to date, this study analyzes possible research topics and proposes a tourism research agenda for the country. A mix of methods was used, consisting of participant observation, semi-structured qualitative expert interviews and qualitative content analysis. The results revealed a range of research gaps in different areas which could be synthesized into a total of ten fields, clustered into three overarching areas – namely market research, management, and culture and the environment. The subordinate research fields identified are demand, statistics, potential, governance, products, infrastructure and development, marketing, heritage and nation-building, sustainability, and peace and conflict prevention. A strategic research plan based on this tourism research agenda could help foster a purposeful scientific debate. Tourism research in these fields has the potential both to investigate and compare theoretical issues in a unique context and to produce applicable results that can make a relevant contribution to tourism development in Uzbekistan.