DEVELOPMENT FACTORS OF PILGRIMAGE TOURISM IN THE MEMBER STATES OF THE ISLAMIC COOPERATION ORGANIZATION (ON THE EXAMPLE OF INDONESIA, MALAYSIA AND TURKEY)

Abstract

Today, one of the main goals of the renewed state of Uzbekistan is to reform every sphere and bring it to a higher stage of development. These reforms will serve to enhance the country’s economy, living standards, as well as Uzbekistan’s image in the international arena. One such area is the Pilgrimage tourism. Uzbekistan is a country with enough potential to build the infrastructure of pilgrimage tourism with ancient and exotic cities, create all the necessary conditions for tourists, and develop a brand of pilgrimage tourism. UNESCO has registered many cultural monuments in Uzbekistan as world cultural heritage. In 2020, 1 million 504 thousand tourists visited Uzbekistan and received services worth $ 261 million. 1.7 million foreign tourists are expected to visit our country in 2021. Today, Crescent Rating, one of the world’s leading organizations specializing in halal tourism, estimates that by 2026, the number of pilgrims will reach 230 million. In the future, pilgrimage tourism will become one of the leading destinations in world tourism, and the pilgrimage tourism industry is becoming an integral part of the world economy. In particular, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation is working systematically on this issue. Another proof of this is the publication of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s Strategy for the Development of Pilgrimage Tourism in the Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The article focuses on the potential of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in the field of international pilgrimage tourism, the historical conditions necessary for the development of pilgrimage tourism in the country, its role as an object of pilgrimage today, the challenges, and future results. In particular, the article offers a report on the work being done to develop pilgrimage tourism in the OIC member states of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Turkey. The article also provides information on internal and external cooperation for the development of pilgrimage tourism.