TOURISM RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AND SUSTAINABLE REGIONAL SERVICE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT: AN EMPIRICAL ASSESSMENT OF UZBEKISTAN
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22546835Abstract
The effective utilization of tourism resources is increasingly important for countries seeking
to transform tourism growth into sustainable regional service-sector development. This study empirically
assesses tourism resource efficiency in Uzbekistan and examines its implications for the development of
regional services. The analysis is based primarily on official data from the National Statistics Committee
of the Republic of Uzbekistan, including foreign tourist trips, tourism service exports, market services, and
accommodation and food services for 2021–2025. Tourism Resource Efficiency (TRE) is measured as tourism
service export revenue generated per foreign tourist trip. The results indicate that the number of foreign tourist
trips increased from 1.881 million in 2021 to 11.680 million in 2025, while tourism service exports increased
from USD 422.1 million to USD 4.880 billion. Consequently, export revenue per foreign tourist trip increased
from approximately USD 224 to USD 418. During the same period, the volume of market services increased
from UZS 389.4 trillion to UZS 1,050.3 trillion. The study also develops a baseline forecast for 2026–2030.
Under a continuation of the observed medium-term trend, foreign tourist trips may reach approximately 22.3
million and tourism service exports approximately USD 10.1 billion by 2030. The corresponding implied tourism
resource efficiency is projected at approximately USD 453 per tourist trip. Based on the empirical findings, a
Tourism Resource Efficiency–Regional Service Development Model is proposed, linking tourism resources,
utilization efficiency, tourism value creation, service-sector spillovers and sustainable regional development.
The study concludes that Uzbekistan should gradually shift from tourism policies focused mainly on increasing
visitor numbers toward policies focused on increasing value created per visitor, regional service integration,
resource productivity and sustainability.
Keywords
tourism resource efficiency, tourism services, regional development, service sector, tourism exports, sustainable tourism, tourism forecasting, Uzbekistan.References
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