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BUILDING A POSITIVE IMAGE OF UZBEKISTAN AS A TOURIST
STATE
Bektosh Berdiyev
Associate Professor at the International Islamic Academy of Uzbekistan
Annotation. The article considers the issue of the image of the state in the
context of the development of the tourism industry in Uzbekistan. It is proved that the
image of the state in the international arena is one of the main factors in the formation
of the country's international relations. The need to strengthen the information
potential of the state, purposeful interaction with the mass media for the correct
formation and presentation of information about the country was noted. It is proved
that a prerequisite for a positive perception of the country and the successful
development of internal public relations is the formation of a single value base
acceptable to the vast majority of the population, various strata and social groups of
the national consciousness and the formation of the national idea of the country.
Keywords: tourism, tourism industry, image of the state, image policy, mass
media.
Introduction and problem statement
. Today, Uzbekistan pays great
attention to creating favorable conditions for the development of tourism. One of the
most effective ways of development is to create a positive tourist image of the
territory. For the development of tourism, only economic grounds and the availability
of tourist and recreational resources are not enough.
It is necessary and important to have a well-formed tourist image that will
work for the country, that is, one that is formed taking into account the level of
development of the economy, the degree of development of infrastructure, transport,
services, the specifics, exoticism and uniqueness of natural and historical and cultural
sites (cognitive and educational value of objects, the presence of objects and
monuments of world importance; fashion and accessibility of historical and cultural
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sites in relation to places of demand; the reliability and capacity of cultural complexes,
the size and shape of objects, as well as the possibility of their inspection), the
ecological condition of the territory, as well as its overall investment attractiveness.
Thus, tourism can influence the formation of a positive image of a particular
country or region, just as the already established image of a territory affects the
tourism industry as a whole. Ignoring the image is guaranteed to have a number of
consequences, mostly of a negative nature. Image occupies an important place among
such concepts as "rating", "reputation", "fame", "prestige", "authority".
The purpose of this work is to analyze the formation and components of
Uzbekistan's image in the international arena. The results of the study. Tourism is an
image–creating and highly profitable sector of the economy and a factor in increasing
Uzbekistan's international prestige. Now there is an urgent question about the need to
form the image of the country as a tourist state not only internationally, but also
domestically. The media plays a crucial role in managing the processes of creating
and promoting a country's image, because in the modern world it is only under their
influence that a certain attitude towards the country and its citizens develops.
Uzbekistan has an image of a tourist state, but it is unclear, at the stage of
formation. Experts admit that today there is very little information in the media about
the problems of the industry and practically no information about positive changes in
this area of business. The tourism industry of our country is only developing at this
stage. There are successes, but the daily struggle for the quality of infrastructure and
the improvement of the legislative framework continues. Among the problems of
tourism, there are such as the imperfection of the legislative framework regarding
resorts and tourism; underdeveloped infrastructure, as well as the lack of a
government policy to promote tourism services at the domestic and international
levels. Uzbekistan has a real chance to take its rightful place in the global tourism
business, but there is still a lot to do. First, to form an opinion in society about the
importance of this industry for the country's economy. Secondly, to create conditions
for the development of tourism at the state level. The number of visits and the number
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of visits are directly dependent on the attractiveness of tourist products and
characterize consumer preferences in purchasing a tourist product.
The country's image in the modern world is becoming an important economic
resource and one of the key factors of its competitiveness. The desire of states to take
a leading position in the global market and create a favorable public opinion makes it
a priority to create a positive image of the country in the world with the help of media
tools. The issue of image objectively occupies one of the leading places in the system
of priorities for the development of the state. Ways to create a high-quality image of
the country include: meetings of specialists with journalists, famous personalities
invited to the country, business trips of domestic specialists abroad, appearances on
television and radio, free distribution of brochures, slides and videos, as well as
participation in various exhibitions and fairs.
Coordination of actions plays an important role in creating a positive image,
which, as a rule, is carried out by representative offices of government organizations
abroad. The effectiveness of promotional activities can be increased through
international cooperation between the ministries of tourism of different countries. The
work on creating an image is carried out purposefully and by various means for each
of the channels of perception: visual, verbal, event-based.
The technology of image creation involves the active use of two directions:
– descriptive (or informational), representing the image of the country;
– evaluative (assessments and emotions caused by information about the state
have an emotional connotation). Evaluation and image have conditional conceptual
differences and are inextricably linked.
It is known that the image consists of the following components:
1. Visual image: purposeful effect on visual sensations, captures information
about brand symbols and other graphic media (advertising).
2. Social image: the imposition on the general public of ideas about the
country, its culture, customs, degree of security, etc.
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3. Business image: business reputation, innovative technologies, segment of
the tourism market, areas of activity. Today, the tourism sector in many countries of
the world is defined as one of the leading ones in the national economy.
It accounts for more than 15% of the global gross national product, all jobs
and global consumer spending. The emergence of new types of tourism contributes
to the gradual transition to new stages of growth and development of the state as a
whole, strengthens the positive image. Media workers and government personnel, as
well as potential employees of the tourism sector, should be well-versed in public
processes and choose the right facts and events to improve communication processes.
In modern conditions of growing tourist interest from different countries and peoples,
the country's image is one of the most important factors that influence the choice of
vacation destinations by foreign tourists.
The main issues that concern tourists in the process of determining the country
of travel are those that can be attributed to the general image of the state (level,
environmental situation, criminogenic situation, national and religious tolerance,
political and economic stability), as well as those related to the development of the
tourism industry (availability of tourist resources and comfort of recreation,
compliance of the service level with the price level, travel safety, baggage integrity,
etc.).
The overall image of the country has a significant impact on the formation of
the tourist image. Although there are cases when it is the tourist image that becomes
decisive for the country, as the country becomes known to the world through tourism.
For example, having many problems in the political, economic, and social spheres,
Egypt, Turkey, Thailand, and other countries were able to create a positive tourist
image in the eyes of foreign tourists.
In most cases, the decision to travel depends not on the fact that a potential
tourist has comprehensive information about the country, but on prevailing
stereotypes, information in the media, and reviews from other tourists. Sometimes
they may not correspond to reality. In such circumstances, a bad reputation or lack
thereof can negate efforts to develop tourism in the country. Thus, the image and
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reputation of the state should be considered as necessary components of its strategic
heritage.
A more detailed study of the ideas that foreigners have about Uzbekistan gives
a disappointing result. According to a study of Uzbekistan's international image
conducted on the basis of an analysis of publications and reports from influential
foreign media, today's perceptions of it are rather superficial, fragmentary and mostly
negative.
Reports about Uzbekistan from non-CIS countries appear more or less
regularly in American, Canadian and Western European publications. The perception
of the inhabitants of these states about our country is formed on the basis of
information, sometimes about corruption, about migrants, in the neighborhood of
Afghanistan, about the drying up of the Aral Sea, with NATO, peacekeeping
activities, about the lack of democracy or underdevelopment of civil society, etc.
Sometimes, under the influence of certain media and "social networks," our
country is unreasonably considered a state with an unstable economic situation, an
unfavorable investment climate, and perceived as an unreliable partner based on
periodic problems with the transit of Afghan drugs. It can be emphasized that the idea
of Uzbekistan's reputation as a tourist state is not sufficiently positioned at the global
level.
Conclusions. The image of Uzbekistan as a tourist state is rather poorly
formed. It is assessed by the real state of things, and not by its rich potential. The
inability of some state and non-State bodies involved in this field affects their
practical activities. It is clear to all of us that a positive tourist image of any state can
be formed only by improving the overall image of the state. To do this, it is necessary
to use the entire image potential of Uzbekistan, to pursue a well-thought-out state
information policy, because one of the important sources of information for foreign
media is live and real advertising of the country's tourism potential. A well-planned
branding campaign is important in this case, and the holding of international mass
sports and cultural events in the country creates good conditions for its launch. But
first of all, it is necessary to have real grounds for creating a tourism brand in
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Uzbekistan by strengthening the recreational and resource potential and the material
and technical base of the tourism industry, improving public infrastructure and
creating a high-quality competitive tourism product.
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