TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (DND) – Uzbektourism – the National Tourism Company (NTO) of Uzbekistan has finalized its tourism development agenda for the year 2013 during a high level meeting of all relevant ministries.

It has been decided to establish a single registration process for all stakeholders, including hotels, tourist bases, recreation areas, resorts, recreation and ecotourism organizations and institutions.

Targets set for the year of 2011-12 were reviewed and it was decided that tourism should be used for promotion of products like handicrafts to increase exports.

According to the Uzbektourism, domestic tourism base will be expanded by offering regional packages and programs during 2012-2013 as implementation of these programs will contribute creation of favorable conditions for travelers and enhance the interest of Uzbek people in domestic tourism. Uzbektourism maintained that the work on developing a set of measures for the development of tourism in Uzbekistan for the period 2012-2016 is getting carried out. It was also decided that tourist traffic signs in English, German and other foreign languages will be installed in airports, railway stations, tourist cities and highways of the republic.

Uzbektourism will also work on building the capacity of workforce of tourism industry workforce by offering training and seminars on the theme Hospitality and Service. This significant action will be organized and coordinated by the Republican Research Training Consulting Center of the NC Uzbektourism.

It may be mentioned that Uzbekistan is working very aggressively for the development of tourism in 2011-2012, the foreign representative offices of the Republic of Uzbekistan organized more than 400 events on the presentation of tourist potential of the country abroad that contributed to attracting more visitors to the country.