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Silk Road
With initiatives dating back to 1994, UN Tourism was an early advocate of the tourism potential of the Silk Road. Today, 33 Silk Road Member States (Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, DPR Korea, Rep. Korea, Egypt, Georgia, Greece, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Montenegro, Pakistan, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan (as of February 2018)) from Europe, Africa, Central Asia and Asia & the Pacific, in addition to UN Tourism Affiliate Members from around the globe, work together to promote the Silk Road routes as a transnational tourism adventure.
In recent years, different types of events have been organized – from high-level ministerial meetings such as the 8th UN Tourism International Meeting on Silk Road Tourism in Thessaloniki and our annual Silk Road events at ITB Berlin to capacity building workshops and Task Force Meetings.
Additionally, UN Tourism has worked with important partners such as Pilot Productions, BBC 4 and Discovery Channel UK.Recently, our route development activities have been focused on developing the Western Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road.
Based on trainings and Visitor Surveys conducted in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan in 2018, Member States gain important know-how on how to attract and improve services aimed at the international traveller, and how to plan associated tourism infrastructure and facilities, an area ranging from the hospitality industry to tourism products and available tours, in a targeted and cost-effective way.
Task Force
The Silk Road Task Force ensures that all Member States are duly represented and have the opportunity to provide input into the Programme.
The Task Force group is also responsible for:- Providing timely feedback on UN Tourism Silk Road programme strategies and action plans
- Discuss and endorse the Silk Road Action Plan
- Ensure the coordinated implementation of the Action Plan, including strategies for immediate and longer-term action
- Promote coherent and coordinated messaging and information sharing
- Share and exchange know-how and best practices
Europe: Armenia, Albania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Greece, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzystan, Montenegro, Romania, San Marino, Spain, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
Asia & The Pacific: Bangladesh, China, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia and Pakistan
Middle East: Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Syria.
Silk Road Task Force Meetings:
- 8th UN Tourism Silk Road Task Force meeting - Kayseri, Turkey (April 2018)
- 7th UN Tourism Silk Road Task Force meeting - Valencia, Spain (March 2017)
- 6th UN Tourism Silk Road Task Force meeting - Urmia, Islamic Republic of Iran (April 2016)
- 5th UN Tourism Silk Road Task Force Meeting - Seoul, Republic of Korea (April 2015)
- 4th UN Tourism Silk Road Task Force Meeting - Tbilisi, Georgia (July 2014)
- 3rd UN Tourism Silk Road Task Force Meeting - Baku, Azerbaijan (April 2013)
- 2nd UN Tourism Silk Road Task Force Meeting - WTM London 2012
- 1st UN Tourism Silk Road Task Force Meeting - WTM London 2011