VISA REGIMES AND REGULATORY DOCUMENTS AS AN OBSTACLE FOR TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN CENTRAL ASIA - Tourism in Central Asia: Cultural Potential and Challenges - page 249

lead to those in the tourism industry accepting nonstandard and semilegal
solutions.
Registration of foreigners ( propiska ) is one of the most significant
relics of the Soviet system, under which it served not only as a tool for
controlling foreign tourists (particularly those coming to the country on
an individual basis) but also for regulating movement within the empire.
Currently, registration of foreigners in the post-Soviet area is required
even for short-term stays (aside from Russia and Belarus) in Uzbekistan,
Turkmenistan, and to some extent in Tajikistan and Kazakhstan. This reg-
istration is another factor, which complicates individual tourism in Central
Asia. Some regimes require tourists to join organized groups and stay in
official hotels. 15
In spite of the effort to transform tourism into an organized framework,
the demand for individual tourism generates a semilegal offer of registra-
tion or disproportionately increases the price of individual tourist services.
This particularly applies to Turkmenistan, where the system has exceeded
the best traditions of the Soviet Inturist agency. A full program, which in-
cludes accommodation in official hotels, a guide and arranged transporta-
tion is necessary for registration to be successful and a visa to be granted.
Registration requirements in Uzbekistan are somewhat milder, but also
less clear-cut. But the rule has been maintained. Although the granting of
tourist visas is tied to tourism agencies, which theoretically bear responsi-
bility for each of their clients, in actual fact these agencies are not autho-
rized to register foreigners. The holder of the tourist visa is thus ordinarily
forced to take care of his own registration. For standard states in which
the tourist stays in a hotel, the problem solves itself, since the hotels are
obligated to register tourists. 16 If a tourist wishes to follow a nonstandard
program in Uzbekistan (by staying in the mountains, being unofficially
invited to stay with a family, couchsurfing, cycling, etc.), he may not then
theoretically demonstrate registration for the night's accommodation and
may be fined at spot checks or upon leaving the country. For tourist visas,
the tourist may not obtain registration from private persons.
15 When the author of this text asked the OVIR office in Uzbekistan why tourists cannot stay with a host
family, he received the terse reply “because tourists come here to stay in hotels.”
16 Some hotels are authorized and licensed to do this. Other, cheaper, hotels are unlicensed and do not
have the option. In addition to leading to high regulation of hotel services in Uzbekistan, it also cuts
available accommodation capacity in smaller towns lying off the beaten path.