Official Press Release issued by the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED)
Location: Dushanbe, Tajikistan
Conference
“Community Based Tourism in Central Asia: Potential drivers for regional development and integration"
On Friday the 16th, the Conference “Community Based Tourism in Central Asia: Potential drivers for regional development and integration”” will be held in Dushanbe.
With the participation of the UNWTO, the conference is organized by ACTED with the contribution of the European Union, OSCE Tajikistan Office, CESVI and other Tajik and Central Asian organizations, and in collaboration with the Committee for Youth Affairs, Sports and Tourism under the Republic of Tajikistan. Aim of the conference is to bring together stakeholders from the public and private tourism sectors and discuss potential areas of development for community based tourism through fostering regional integration at Central Asia level, and promoting cooperation with cross-sectorial business initiatives. UNWTO will be represented by Ms Johanna Devine, Technical Coordinator for the Silk Road Programme, who will deliver a presentation about “Developing tourism in Central Asia along the Silk Road: Opportunities, Challenges and Achievements”.
The conference will in particular focus on three main topics: quality of community based tourism services, networking among community based tourism Associations and operators at national and regional level, and synergies with the handicraft sector in the region. The conference will be attended by representatives of relevant tourism related government agencies, businesses, tourism organizations, diplomatic corps, as well as Tajik and international experts involved in tourism industry.
The event is part of the project “Uniting and Strengthening Community Based Tourism Associations in Central Asia”, implemented in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan with the financial support of the European Union (Central Asia Invest Programme III) by ACTED, in partnership with ECEAT, TATO, KCBTA and KATO. The project aims at developing and strengthening community based tourism associations’ capacities to assist tourism providers in Central Asia, by creating a national Tajik Community Based Tourism Association, supporting the capacity and promotion of community based tourism stakeholders in providing their services, and improving the coordination between Tajik and Kyrgyz representatives of the sector.
