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one of the most important sectors that would contribute to its developing
economy. However, her study also mentions that in order to tap into the
natural, cultural and heritage resources of the country there has to be a
concerted effort on the part of all the stakeholders in the tourism sector, in-
cluding the government and the private sector. Furthermore, in its current
form and structure, the tourism sector lacks the capacity to accommodate
tourists with high quality of services compounded with inappropriate pric-
ing strategies that are not consistent with the level of services in the tour-
ism sector, confirming that the tourism sector poses both opportunities and
also tremendous challenges. In addition, safety and security matters are
also factors that impact the image of the country as a destination.
Almost all the studies mentioned the fact that the Central Asian coun-
tries are unique in that they are exotic and newly emerging destinations,
offer a wide variety of rich cultural and heritage attractions and possess
natural beauty and great hospitality but in some instances may lack good
infrastructure for basic tourism amenities, trained personnel and more im-
portantly lack channels of distributions and suffer from inaccessibility to
some areas apart from major cities. Due to the Silk Road project and their
abundance of cultural and natural resources, the Central Asian countries
are gaining more attention and heightened interest from potential investors
as well as tour operators and thus visitors, all signifying that these coun-
tries have tremendous potential for tourism development. However, turn-
ing these opportunities and potential into a reality is likely to be a result of
long, expensive, and complicated processes (Uysal and Kantarci, 2007).
As you will read in the coming chapters, it has not been an easy road for
tourism development in Central Asia. Many pull factors, particularly road
infrastructure and accommodation quality, have been hurdles for the area's
development. Government corruption and bureaucratic red tape have also
been formidable challenges encountered by those attempting to develop
successful tourism businesses in the region. On the other hand, other pull
factors such as natural beauty and visible remnants of the regions rich
cultural heritage are patiently waiting to be noticed and appreciated by the
masses. Thus, by advancing our knowledge of such pull factors, and by
enhancing our comprehension of the region's heritage in general, we can
better understand the current opportunities and challenges regarding tour-
ism development in the area.
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