THE ROLE OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES IN DEVELOPING THE EXPORT OF TOURISM SERVICES: THE EXPERIENCE OF UZBEKISTAN

Abstract

The rapid growth of Uzbekistan’s tourism sector over the past decade has been closely linked to the state-led digitalization of public and business services. Digital tools have simplified entry procedures, expanded the international visibility of the national tourism product and helped local tour operators access external markets at lower transaction costs. In 2024 Uzbekistan welcomed about 10.2 million foreign visitors and earned roughly 3.5 billion USD from tourism, and in the first nine months of 2025 export of tourism services had already surpassed 3.6 billion USD, showing that technology-backed reforms are being converted into hard currency inflows. The article examines the key digital solutions introduced in Uzbekistan—national tourism portal, electronic visa, online promotion and booking systems—and evaluates their contribution to the growth of export-oriented tourism services. The study argues that the combination of administrative digitalization and market-driven online platforms created an integrated digital environment that reduced barriers for foreign tourists and increased the country’s attractiveness for high-spending segments. Remaining constraints are related to interoperability of systems, staff skills and multilingual digital content.