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developing a model of destination competitiveness and certain indicators
that will help them to identify the relative strengths and weaknesses of
different tourist destinations. To solve this issue, destination competitive-
ness has to be linked to the ability of a destination to deliver goods and
services that perform better than other destinations on those aspects of
the tourism experience considered to be important by tourists. Therefore,
it is extremely crucial to choose a proper strategy to develop a competi-
tive and sustainable Silk Road Program. In this chapter, we used a model
developed by the World Economic Forum (WEF) as a primary framework
to determine potential strengths, weaknesses, values, and other character-
istics of the Silk Road countries.
What could contribute to a competitive and sustainable tourism man-
agement on the Silk Road route might include historical, cultural, and
natural resources. The Silk Road countries are traditionally very rich in
these resources and can provide certain unique experiences for potential
travelers and profitable investment opportunities for investors. Especially,
prioritization efforts of the first circle countries create a potential to attract
foreign investments.
A UNWTO report (2009) reveals that historical resources offered to
foreign visitors consist of fascinating structures and monuments, which
include ancient mosques, madrasahs, tombs, and relics. The other poten-
tial tourism subsector is ecotourism, especially in Central Asian countries
because of the most scenic landscapes and ample spaces. High mountains,
glaciers, caves, lakes, rivers, hot springs and steppes provide an extremely
attractive environment for ecotourists. Similarly, Tajikistan's National
Park is classified as one of the largest and most diverse parks in Central
Asia.
While the region is rich in natural, historical, and cultural resources,
the infrastructure is extremely insufficient, creating a major weakness for
the Central Asia region. Shortages in the number and quality of hotels,
transportation infrastructure, communication systems and camping and
other facilities can be classified as major shortcomings. Weak branding
can also be added to the weakness list of the Silk Road region.
In Table 1, below, international tourist arrivals and receipts are sum-
marized for the years between 2009-2011. As it can be inferred from the
Table 1, 28 countries as a whole share a high percentage of international
tourists (around 1 out of every 4 tourists) and international tourism re-
ceipts (1 out of 5) in the world.
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