The tourism industry in Uzbekistan is a strategically important branch of the economy. For the development of the industry in our country, large-scale and long-term work is being carried out by the state. The abolition of visas, the development of safe tourism, the development of certain types of tourism-from gastronomic and cultural-historical, to extreme and environmental types of tourism. The tourism industry in Uzbekistan has been undergoing major changes over the past few years.
The presence of a large number of unique natural objects (lakes, mountain peaks, river floodplain forests) and a rich cultural and historical heritage (more than 7,000 monuments of architecture and art, about 700 UNESCO sites) creates a large-scale potential for the development of the industry.
But just like history, every country's economy is made by people. The development of human resources, training of qualified specialists in the field of tourism is one of the important tools and strategies of this rapidly developing industry. The requirements for professional training of specialists for the tourism sector are determined by the current state and trends in the development of world tourism, the international hospitality industry and the formation of modern services that meet the needs of tourists around the world.
This was also noted by the head of our state Sh. Mirziyoyev at the G8 Summit, within the framework of the meeting of the heads of state of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, held in the Chinese city of Qingdao. On the same day, the President of our country put forward the idea of creating an international specialized institute in the field of tourism. Thus, thanks to this initiative, the Silk Road International University of Tourism was opened in Samarkand in July 2018.
IUT "Silk Road" is the first university of tourism in Uzbekistan, which has received an international status. All lectures at the university are held in English. And the level of the university's teaching staff speaks for itself.
For the work of the university, foreign specialists in the field of hotel management and highly qualified Uzbek teachers with many years of experience in the field of tourism and hospitality, as well as scientific degrees of international significance were attracted. For example, in May 2021, Professor Raymond Joseph Hofmann, a graduate of Harvard and Oxford Universities, a qualified specialist with extensive experience in the field of cultural tourism and heritage, as well as in the field of religion, was appointed Vice-rector for Academic Research at the Samarkand International University of Tourism.
Today, the IUT "Silk Road" trains full-time and part-time students in various fields, such as: tourism, marketing in the field of tourism, digital tourism, design in the field of tourism, logistics in tourism, management of mass events, tour guide and translation activities. In addition, students acquire new knowledge in the field of tourism and hotel business management, as well as in the field of international hospitality and tourism.
The academic staff of the University has developed a training program for the Master's degree department based on the latest international standards. The master's degree program includes such areas as Tourism Management, Hotels and Mass Events, Management in the field of International Hospitality and Tourism, as well as Economics and Tourism management.
To improve the professional skills of specialists and conduct scientific activities in the field of tourism, the university has a doctoral program and a center for advanced training of faculty and staff.
IUT "Silk Road" is today the only university in Uzbekistan that has developed a system for issuing double degrees. Within the framework of the scientific program "3+1", the university signed an agreement with the leading international tourism institutes of Indonesia and China.
In 2019, the university opened a branch of the Paris Academy of the Pantheon-Sorbonne University and the UNESCO Department of Cultural Tourism.
The University has grants from international organizations. Not so long ago, the IUT "Silk Road" owned a grant from the British Council. This project is designed for five years and is aimed at teaching and developing creative thinking in students, improving English language skills, developing skills for entrepreneurship, as well as promoting academic cooperation between universities and research institutes in the field of tourism.
