Publication Details
Abstract
Cultural heritage is a challenging balancing act at the heart of modern tourism, especially in Uzbekistan, a historic place on the Silk Road and now modern day home to attention of the world. Even as these groups step up their promotional efforts, empirical research into how in situ heritage preservation and its accessibility affect tourist decisions remains scarce. This study fills this gap by exploring the significance of these factors influencing travel decisions of Silk Road destinations in Uzbekistan. A quantitative research design receiving responses to an online structured questionnaire by 44 local and international respondents. The data collected were analyzed using SPSS based on bivariate and multiple linear regression in order to ascertain relationships between heritage-related variables and tourist behavior. Results show that cultural heritage sites preservation and accessibility of major destinations are major factors affecting tourists' decisions. Cultural heritage bears its weight in the context of travel planning when visiting historical sites as well as effective transportation infrastructure are maintained. All of these were statistically significant for destination choice, while overall satisfaction, return intention, and quality of tour guide were not. Findings underscore tourists' focus on 'concrete' and 'useful'- the physical context (realised in infrastructure) and conservation (quality) elements, components of heritage tourism. This gives an implication for policy to promote site preservation and transport accessibility to compensate for competitiveness. This study adds insight to the development of heritage-based tourism and suggest practical implications for policymakers and tourism stakeholders in Uzbekistan. Enhancing preservation efforts and accessibility would leverage sustainable tourism development and also strengthen the national culture brand in the international tourism marketplace.