Improving The Financing Model of Recreational Tourism Based on Public Private Partnership

Since recreational tourism is one of the main areas of development for the socio-economic growth of Uzbekistan, there is a need to develop sustainable financing models that combine the advantages of public and private partnerships. Although in 2019 it created a legal PPP framework, implementation is low in the recreational tourism sector due to institutional, financial and managerial factors. The overall absence of integrated strategies and successful PPP models that would be more relevant to the very special conditions of the tourism industry in particular and Uzbekistan economy as a whole considering the financing and governance of large scale recreational projects. The goal of the study is to create an adaptive financing model for recreational tourism, taking into account the best practices of international PPP experience, forecasted for the future sustainable dynamics of investments, and to identified mechanisms for the institutional enhancement and digital transformation. The analysis shows that the concession and BOOT models are the ones that will be more beneficial for Uzbekistan, helping to use the available natural and cultural domestic assets efficiently, while in turn developing the volume of private investment by more than 60% to the level of 2030. It proposes the establishment of a Recreational Tourism and PPP Agency, and the development of a Recreational Tourism Development Fund which would provide the necessary financial and administrative means to implement the plan. The research provides a holistic PPP-based framework combining various basic digital technologies including AI, Blockchain, and Geographic Information System with environmental sustainability standards like ISO 14001, Green Key, and EarthCheck towards transparency, efficiency, and environmental-friendly behavior. Application of such a model will not only strengthen the investors’ trust in the industry and diversify the sources of financing but it will also help the country to develop in the regions and establish Uzbekistan as a Central Asia Four-Season Recreational Center with long-term economic and environmental sustainability.