Evaluating Local Community and Government Authority engagement in developing the Tourism business in Uzbekistan

. A research study was carried out to investigate the extent to which local communities and government authorities are involved in tourism development, with the objective of promoting sustainable practices that are mutually beneficial. Although attempts have been made to incorporate local communities in the tourism sector, there is insufficient research on their viewpoints and level of participation, particularly in Uzbekistan. The purpose of this research is to appraise the perceptions of local government authorities regarding the progress of tourism, gauge their current participation in the field, comprehend their thoughts on the government's responsibility in tourism development, and investigate their stance on contributing funds to the local community. This study focuses on Uzbekistan as the research area and aims to investigate the views of local communities and government authorities on tourism development. Additionally, the study seeks to identify opportunities for enhancing local community engagement in tourism in Uzbekistan regions. The objectives of this research are as follows: 1) to evaluate the viewpoints of government officials in Uzbekistan regions regarding the progress of tourism; 2) to examine the level of involvement of local government in the tourism sector; and 3) to scrutinize the perspectives of local authorities on the role of the government in the development of tourism and 4) examine the perspectives of local authorities on contributing revenue to the local community.


Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial influence on multiple developing countries worldwide, which can be attributed to a range of factors, including regional and civil conflicts, natural disasters, fragile economies, unsustainable utilization of natural resources, elevated levels of poverty and unemployment, and population expansion [1].
To improve their economies, many developing countries have implemented various policies and measures, including the promotion of tourism.Tourism is recognized as a rapidly growing industry in several countries and has emerged as a crucial factor in enhancing the economies of numerous developing countries.Additionally, tourism has presented numerous opportunities for national governments to establish themselves in the global economy, thereby serving as a catalyst for economic development initiatives in both urban and rural areas [2].
Tourism has emerged as a significant means of generating economic, social, and environmental advantages for local communities, contributing to community development and reducing poverty levels [3].
Tourism has been acknowledged as a vital factor in economic development.According to Inskeep, communities opt to involve themselves in the tourism industry for three primary reasons.First, tourism can provide direct and indirect financial benefits to the local community.Second, tourism can bring about a range of socio-cultural advantages.Lastly, tourism can result in environmental preservation initiatives.As a consequence, numerous rural areas have adopted tourism as a feasible strategy to attain economic, socio-cultural, and ecological stability in developing nations [4].
The primary focus of this research is on the participation of local communities in the progression of the tourism sector in the various regions of Uzbekistan.The study, in particular, examines the practices of tourism development and evaluates the perspectives of different stakeholders regarding participatory tourism development that emphasizes the benefits of the local communities and government authorities.

Literature review
In several developing countries, the potential for growth in the tourism industry is difficult to overlook [5].Tourism has been acknowledged as a significant factor in promoting economic growth [6] and development [7].According to some scholars, the tourism industry offers several benefits, including sustainable growth, profit-sharing opportunities, resource utilization, and the development of new infrastructure [8,9].
As previously stated, Sharpley and Telfer have identified that tourism development has evolved over the years, passing through various models such as modernization, dependency, economic neoliberalism, and development [10].
Sustainable development emphasizes the significance of establishing connections with local communities to ensure long-term benefits and overall success.According to Wahab and Pigram, sustainable development has been given as an example for an alternative approach that entails public involvement and community-based planning.Within the tourism context, the neoliberal approach has led to the exploitation of several developing nations and promoted a colonial tourism culture, where visitors travel developing countries but do not engage with the local communities [11].
Opportunities include jobs in transportation services, tour guiding, and tourism security in the tourism industry.Additionally, the industry creates opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses, which is particularly crucial in rural communities.Moreover, it generates additional tax revenues, such as airport and hotel taxes, that can be utilized to fund social services like schools, housing, and hospitals [16][17][18][19].The tourism industry continues to serve as a significant source of employment and income in both formal and informal sectors in numerous countries [20].
Tourism revenue complements the income generated from exporting goods and services abroad.Additionally, this sector finances the import of capital goods required for the development of a country's industrial sector.Conversely, economic growth in developed nations can result in an increase in business travel, leading to a rise in the country's foreign reserves [21].Tourism plans worldwide are developed by either central or local authorities.Research on tourism development, planning and policies has found that the process is closely related to the political, economic [22,23], digital products (AI, robotics, etc.) [24][25][26][27], and social factors [28].
Local stakeholders in tourism have shown that the local authorities of Uzbekistan play an important role in improving the infrastructure of the sector and microfinancing [29].In Uzbekistan, the government's authority was predominantly viewed in a positive light owing to several measures taken to promote tourism.These measures include the removal of visa requirements for international tourists, workshops aimed at enhancing the skills of industry professionals, and the provision of business loans and assistance [30,[32][33][34][35][36][37][38].The stakeholder map was proposed to improve the mechanism of state regulation of the tourism industry in Uzbekistan.The stakeholder map demonstrates that the Uzbek tourism market is regulated by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Minister of Natural Resources.The recently established Agency for Innovative Development of the Republic of Uzbekistan is taking a proactive role in addressing tourism-related issues [31].The primary focus of developing the tourism sector is to enhance the well-being and livelihoods of local communities.

Materials and methods
This study used a data collection method that involved a questionnaire survey of 170 respondents.The research has been conducted to achieve four primary objectives: 1) to assess the opinions of local government authorities regarding tourism development in Uzbekistan regions; 2) to investigate the current level of local government involvement in the tourism industry; 3) to analyse local authorities' perspectives on the government's role in developing the tourism business; and 4) to examine local authorities' views on contributing revenue to the local community.
This study involved 170 participants who were chosen from among local government authorities responsible for managing the department of tourism development under the regional government authority.There were 170 respondents in Uzbekistan regions.The questionnaire was accompanied by a cover letter that included brief information about the study's introduction and the reason for its conduction.

Results
This part presents the conclusive outcomes of the qualitative data examination from the research conducted among government officials in Uzbekistan.The collected data were analysed to achieve the research objectives and are divided into two sections.The first section provides demographic profiles of the respondents, while the second section summarizes the results based on each research objective as per the survey questionnaires.
Table 1 summarizes the respondent's profile, indicating that 96.4% of the participants were male, while 3.6% were female.The majority of the respondents fell between the age groups of 36-55, accounting for 58.2%, followed by 25-35 (28.8%) and 56 and above (13%).In terms of education, 1.7% of respondents completed high school and college diploma, while 74.7% held a bachelor's degree.Additionally, 23.6% had a post-graduate degree, including master's and doctorate degrees.
Respondents with an education major were about 55.3% graduated from the economics related field, and 6.5% graduated from law related field; 1.2% graduated from tourism related field and 37% respondents, who work for the government tourism department, graduated from different education background.Respondents with the working experience in the field were about 18.8% of respondents with less than one year working experience, 11.8% of respondents with 1-3 years' experience, 18.8% with 3-5 years' experience and half of our respondents with more than 5 years' experience in the local government.Some influential individuals who hold responsibility for the growth of the tourism sector were interviewed.Those individuals were chosen from government officials who work in the tourism industry.To ensure a comprehensive analysis, knowledgeable respondents were selected from the local government authority, including officials, professionals, and community members.The questionnaire was completed by participants from various regions of Uzbekistan, with 170 local government officials from 13 regions being the chosen participants.

Local government authority views about tourism potential in Uzbekistan regions
The outcomes of the respondents' opinions regarding tourism potential in Uzbekistan regions are presented in Table 2, focusing on three significant aspects, namely, generating job opportunities for local residents, improving income levels, and enhancing general well-being.Based on the research findings, it can be inferred that more than 60% of the respondents held a positive outlook regarding the ability of regional tourism to generate employment for the local population, improve their income levels, and enhance their overall quality of life.In Table 2, the survey question "Tourism can create jobs for local people", 67.6% of respondents strongly agree with this statement about creating job opportunities for locals.Only 3.5% of respondents have shown a disagreement with this statement.
For the survey question "Tourism can improve the level of income for local people", this statement shows that 70.0% of respondents believe that tourism can make a contribution to the income of locals.1.8 of them show their opinion with neutral point, and overall, 2.4% disagree with opinion about tourism development.
The statement "Tourism can enhance the prosperity of local people" suggests that tourism can contribute to the overall well-being of the local community.According to the respondents' opinions on tourism development, if the local government plans tourism initiatives while keeping the interests of the local community in mind, it can lead to job creation and increased income levels.

Local government authority opinions about tourism engagement
The previous results indicate that local government officials in Uzbekistan regions believed strongly that tourism could be a key sector to improve the economic growth of country and their livelihood.To investigate the viewpoints of local government authorities regarding the potential of regional tourism, the respondents were presented with four questions to express their agreement or disagreement: 1) Tourism projects in regions can help to improve the infrastructure, 2) Ministry of Cultural and Tourism encourages the private sector representatives for developing tourism planning and new project offerings, 3) Tourism projects offered by government organizations are distributed equally in Uzbekistan regions for the tourism development, and 4) Uzbekistan regions should implement more tourism related projects.Table 3 represents the outcomes of the survey question "Tourism projects in regions can help to improve the infrastructure," indicating that the respondents who are involved in the tourism industry believed that tourism projects in Uzbekistan regions can enhance the infrastructure surrounding historical sites that attract a significant number of tourists.However, some respondents stated that they did not observe any development in the infrastructure of Uzbekistan regions.
The survey question "Ministry of Cultural and Tourism encourages the private sector representatives for developing tourism plannings and new project offerings" indicates that the respondents who are involved in the tourism industry have less knowledge about the government's proposed tourism projects in Uzbekistan regions than expected.As a result, they stressed that the Ministry of Cultural and Tourism should take more steps to engage and collaborate fairly with the private sector in implementing more tourism-oriented projects.Some respondents had a negative outlook on the cooperation between the Ministry of Cultural and Tourism and private sector representatives.
The survey inquiry "Tourism projects offered by government organizations are distributed equally in Uzbekistan regions for the tourism development" suggests that those involved in tourism believe that the regions encompassing historical sites are the primary areas requiring more tourism development projects, given the high inflow of visitors to our country's ancient cities.However, some respondents feel that the Ministry of Cultural and Tourism is not imparting fair distribution on such projects.
They believe that the government needs to focus on promoting tourism and constructing more tourist sites to ensure that the benefits of tourism are evenly spread across all local authorities in the regions of Uzbekistan.
The survey question regarding "Uzbekistan regions should implement more tourism related projects" suggests that there is a requirement to introduce new initiatives in order to attract tourists and extend their duration of stays.However, a part of those interviewed believe that attention ought to be given to non-tourism public sectors like health, education, and factories in providing employment opportunities for the local community.

Respondents' Perspectives on the role of government
According to the survey findings, over 60% of the participants expressed satisfaction with the Ministry of Cultural and Tourism's performance.However, a few among them are not wholly satisfied with how tourism revenue is distributed to local government authorities.Furthermore, the majority of respondents in Table 4 believe that the government plays a crucial role in tourism development, as indicated by their responses to six survey questions related to the government's involvement.
In general, it is commonly acknowledged that the government's function in the tourism industry is imperative, primarily in terms of providing financial assistance to tourism-related activities through grants and loans, establishing investment opportunities for private sector , 06012 (2024) BIO Web of Conferences MSNBAS2023 https://doi.org/10.1051/bioconf/2024820601282 stakeholders, ensuring equitable distribution of tourism-generated revenue to local communities, and addressing any issues that may arise in the tourism sector.In Table 4, the survey question "Government should support local communities with loans and grants in order to establish tourism business", it represents that the Uzbekistan Government provide financial aid in the form of loans and grants to local communities as a means of supporting their tourism-related business activities.
The survey question "Government should prioritize much more investments in the tourism industry", it represents that the Uzbekistan Government should prioritize the tourism business and encourage investments for the tourism development in Uzbekistan regions in order to attract more tourists.Majority of respondents show their agreement with the survey question.
The survey question, "the government should create opportunities for investment in the tourism industry for both the private sector and local communities," suggests that the Uzbekistan government must enhance investment opportunities in tourism for private sector businesses and local communities in different regions of Uzbekistan.This is essential to improve tourism-related activities, satisfy the requirements of tourists, and encourage them to spend their time in Uzbekistan.Majority of respondents show their agreement with this survey question as well.
The survey question, "The government needs to create job opportunities for the local community," indicates that the Uzbekistan government should create job opportunities for , 06012 (2024) BIO Web of Conferences MSNBAS2023 https://doi.org/10.1051/bioconf/2024820601282 the local population to enhance their overall welfare.For the survey question "Government should distribute for some part of revenue to local community living around the tourism destination", it represents that the Uzbekistan Government should distribute fairly the tourism revenue for local community in order to improve their well-being and help the local government authority to be able to show and offer better services for local residents.
The survey question, "Ministry of Cultural and Tourism should take an important part in finding solutions to issues and challenges related to the tourism industry" suggests that the Ministry of Cultural and Tourism should take significant steps in resolving tourismrelated problems and creating a favorable environment for tourists, private sector players, and locals as well.

The Current Involvement of the Government in Developing Tourism
The government typically includes multiple ministries and organizations that work to enhance public services and the country's economy.In Uzbekistan, the Ministry of Cultural and Tourism is the primary government agency involved in the development of tourism.The country's Law of Tourism oversees tourism destinations and cultural heritage, and the Ministry of Cultural and Tourism is responsible for promoting and developing tourism while also protecting cultural heritage sites.Overall, the Ministry of Cultural and Tourism serves as the authorized state body for tourism development in Uzbekistan.

Discussion
Tourism is viewed as a significant means to generate employment and boost infrastructure in Uzbekistan, according to both inhabitants and authorities of local governments.The respondents of the survey acknowledge the country's tourism potential, but they note that the transportation and accommodation facilities' infrastructure development has not been satisfactory.
The research findings indicate that tourism initiatives have been executed solely in the areas around historical landmarks, with no attention to other regions in Uzbekistan.The survey participants suggest that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, along with other relevant organizations, should expand their marketing strategies beyond historical tourism and focus on additional tourism regions and categories, such as eco-tourism and recreational tourism since Uzbekistan regions possess these opportunities as well.
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism in Uzbekistan places a significant emphasis on tourism development and sustainability, recognizing the important role that tourism plays in contributing to the country's economy.Tourism can be seen as a key sector to create job opportunities and to attract investments but it has currently faced many problems during the pandemic period.The government has to implement a public-private partnership strategy in order to expand employment and investment opportunities, social benefits, the revenues of tourism sector.In many countries, local officials have had limited involvement in the planning, development, and management of tourism, and they have got lack of experience in these areas.In recent years this has been changing, and the key role of local authorities is now recognized [28-31; 39-41].They need to increase local government authority and the involvement of local communities in the tourism sector.

Conclusion
There are both theoretical and practical studies on the growth of tourism in different regions of Uzbekistan.However, the majority of these studies focus only on analyzing the influence , 06012 (2024) BIO Web of Conferences MSNBAS2023 https://doi.org/10.1051/bioconf/2024820601282 of tourism on the nation's financial system and cultural aspects, without exploring other areas.Scholars are increasingly interested in the topic of community engagement in the tourism industry.However, there is a lack of empirical studies on this topic in the context of Uzbekistan.To fill this gap, this research focused on exploring the engagement of local communities and government authorities in the tourism industry in Uzbekistan regions.
The government needs to finance and support the local community in order to increase the country's economy and to improve the tourism business activities in its regions.The Uzbekistan government needs to attract foreign investors and encourage other low-cost airline companies to help in promoting Uzbekistan around the world.They need to pay attention to distribute fairly grants and investments among local government authorities and communities.It is crucial to effectively manage and equally allocate investment resources for the development of tourism in Uzbekistan regions, and the government should implement effective planning policies that empower the local community to enhance their overall wellbeing.

Table 1 .
Demographic Statistics of Survey Respondents

Table 2 .
Respondents' opinions on the tourism potential of Uzbekistan regions

Table 3 .
Respondents' opinions to questions associated with tourism engagement

Table 4 .
Role of the government in developing the tourism business