Perspectives on the Improvement of Uzbekistan as a Destination for Multi-Confessional Self-Organised Pilgrims

By accenting the tourism industry as one of the most valuable sectors for prosperity and appreciating its potential in new social-economic reforms, the administration of the Republic of Uzbekistan has been making visible steps for its development. Particularly religious tourism and pilgrimage are noted as offering opportunities for modernisation in a global world. Carrying a major geographical role in the connection of main trade routes between East and West, the country became the crossroad of civilisation and religious diffusions. Consequently, with new religious tourism and pilgrimage flows: following the earliest dominating beliefs of Zoroastrianism, and its New Age followers; being the historical homeland of Bukharian Jews; being attractive to representatives of Mahayana Buddhism from the East Asian continent and; containing shrines primarily from the Islamic cultural renaissance, could all make it an attractive destination. The distances between these destinations requires an input of investment in infrastructure to provide easy access by air and land. A commitment and elaboration of food preferences, and arrangement of suitable accommodation options along with media advertisement abroad, would create diversity of supply and competitive advantages in global tourism market.