RELIGIOUS-PILGRIMAGE TOURISM AS A FACTOR OF TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN KHOREZM REGION

The given master`s thesis attempts to analyze the situation of religious – pilgrimage tourism (ziyarah tourism) in Uzbekistan and the significance of it among other tourism types. In the work, the problems related to religious – pilgrimage tourism (ziyarah tourism) in Khorezm region such as standardization, resource management and lack of promotion are studied in detail. Special attention is paid to the development of ziyarah tourism and ziyarah resources to attract more tourists to the region. Moreover, the MFT (Muslim friendly tourism) is introduced as a new method of developing ziyarah tourism in Khorezm region and successful MFT experiences of OIC member and non-OIC member countries are defined. As a solution for developing ziyarah tourism in the region a new ziyarah touristic route is developed by the author and recommendations are given in conclusion.