ASSESSMENT OF THE TOURISM POTENTIAL OF ZAAMIN NATIONAL PARK BASED ON INTERNATIONAL CRITERIA

Abstract

This article analyses the tourism potential of Zaamin National Nature Park, located in the Jizzakh Region, on the basis of international assessment criteria - the Destination Criteria of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) and the guidelines of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for managing tourism in protected areas. At a time when the development of ecological and mountain tourism has become one of the priority directions of state policy in Uzbekistan, assessing the recreational potential of protected areas in a scientifically grounded manner and in accordance with international standards is of pressing relevance. The article systematises official data on the park's natural-geographic indicators and biodiversity and, on that basis, offers an expert assessment of its tourism potential against ecological, socio-economic and management criteria, together with proposed directions for development.