Tourism is gradually reviving in the two most attractive locations of Tajikistan – the Pamirs and the Fan mountains of the ZarafshanValley. However, it is developing on the basis of an old model. As a result, tourism plays an insignificant role in the development of the regional economy. The Government of Tajikistan has shown little initiative in developing the tourism sector, despite their expressed hope that tourism will be an alternative economic sector for resource-poor mountain areas of the country.
In 2007, the local Public Organisation ASDP NAU and the German NGO Welt Hunger Hilfe have lunched a Community Based Project in the Zarafshan Valley, with financial support from the European Commission. The project aims to strengthen the tourism sector in the Zarafshan valley in Tajikistan, and to establish alternative income generation in this picturesque place. Its mountainous landscape is at the same time the biggest challenge and the main opportunity. Tourism is a little-developed economic activity here, with good potential. The Zarafshan valley was a famous tourist destination in Soviet times, and thousands of tourists visited the area every year. The collapse of the Soviet Union and the civil war resulted in the complete decline of this economic sector. At present, very few tourists visit the area, although it possesses exceptional natural beauty and is home to an ancient culture. The main attractions of the valley are its alpine characteristics: the high peaks, deep blue lakes, mountain passes, juniper forests and vast alpine pasture make it a paradise for trekking and mountaineering. In addition, there are several cultural and religious sites dating back to the age of the Great Silk Road. Another advantage of the valley its geographical proximity to the city of Samarkand, the most famous tourist centre of Central Asia.
The Soviet type of tourism paid little attention to the role of the community: tourism was managed by the central administration and the services offered were very narrow. The present small number of visiting tourists travels through intermediary travel agencies, using their personnel and support. In this way the local community becomes just a part of the scenery and has no benefit from it. New Tourism Initiative Groups (TIGs) created in 6 areas (Haftkul, Iskanderkul, Alauddin, Yagnob, Gornaya Matcha, Veshab) are the centre of community management for the development and improvement of tourism services at village level.
A decentralized approach to tourism based on the community requires effective coordination and relations between the parties concerned to achieve a unique functional system. For this reason the Zarafshan Tourism Development Association has been established in the Zarafshan valley. ZTDA is the main element in project implementation and aims to bring together the community (TIG service providers), private sector (travel agencies, tour operators) and relevant government departments at district and regional levels.
Under the project, the service providers (home stay owners, guides, drivers, cooks, and porters in 6 TIGs) were introduced to the new tourism activities. They acquired new skills by attending the training courses on hospitality, guiding, basic English, international cuisine and others. In order to ensure continuously high quality in the tourist services offered by the members of the TIGs, internal standards for each type of service were created.
16 home stays in 10 villages in the Zarafshan Valley have been rehabilitated and are now ready to host their guests.
In addition, some small scale, cost-efficient measures were adopted to improve the infrastructure in the target villages.
With project support a series of marketing activities for promoting the ZarafshanValley were undertaken by ZTDA:
-attractive packages and information and promotion materials were created;
-familiarization tours for tourist agencies and media were organised;
-ZTDA and ZarafshanValley as tourist destination were presented at national, regional and international tourism Fairs;
For more information about the project please contact us:
Local Public Organisation ASDP NAU735700, office in Khujand, Tel. and fax: (+992 3422) 45320, 60362, jamshedkayomov@agencynau.tj
Tourism is gradually reviving in the two most attractive locations of 
A decentralized approach to tourism based on the community requires effective coordination and relations between the parties concerned to achieve a unique functional system. For this reason the Zarafshan Tourism Development Association has been established in the Zarafshan valley. ZTDA is the main element in project implementation and aims to bring together the community (TIG service providers), private sector (travel agencies, tour operators) and relevant government departments at district and regional levels. 