Reform Headquarters: Tourism master plan for Boyqong‘ir village in Bakhmal district developed based on Germany’s cluster development approach

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Bakhmal district possesses significant tourism potential thanks to its mountainous landscapes and advanced agricultural practices.

Nature-oriented tourism is actively developing in the district, with the number of visitors growing each year. Taking this dynamic into account, the Institute for Macroeconomic and Regional Studies (IMRS) under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan has developed a tourism development master plan for the Boyqong‘ir valley.

For reference, IMRS specialists participated in a training workshop in 2023 organized by the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) in Baden-Württemberg, where they studied Germany’s leading practices in strategic planning and territorial development. This experience was applied in the preparation of local master plans.

During the preparation of the master plan, based on analysis and field research, activities with high growth potential were identified. The main areas for development were defined as medical tourism, sports and mountain tourism, ecotourism, and agritourism.

An analysis of Google Trends data showed that tourist flows in the district are currently concentrated in the spring and summer months. Therefore, the development concept places particular emphasis on minimizing environmental impact and creating conditions for year-round tourism.

When outlining measures and projects within the master plan, a bottom-up approach was applied, incorporating public-private dialogue to identify promising initiatives. A social survey was conducted among 303 residents of the district, including 50 entrepreneurs.

As a result of the survey, 38 projects were designed in line with the chosen development areas. The projects were selected based on environmental sustainability, job creation potential, reduction of seasonal dependence, and interconnectivity; 10 of them were selected as pilot initiatives.

Four of the pilot projects represent large investment initiatives, including a sanatorium specializing in the treatment of respiratory diseases; a resort and hotel complex for wellness and recreation; a sports complex and hotel for athletes; and a recreational zone featuring a cable car, zip lines, entertainment attractions, observation towers, retail outlets, food courts, and restaurants.

Expected outcomes include the requirement of US$7.4 million for infrastructure and utility networks, enabling the attraction of approximately US$40 million in investments—5.4 times the initial expenditures. Nineteen hectares of land will be offered at auction, more than 300 permanent jobs will be created, and a sustainable tourist flow is expected during the autumn-winter season, while in spring and summer the number of tourists may increase by seven to ten times. The master plan is also expected to unite the mountainous regions of Zomin and Bakhmal into a single tourism chain.