To attract tourists, the population of the regions developing this industry must acquire the necessary skills. Like any type of tourism, rural tourism requires special knowledge and skills for providing tourism services and tour products. “Information hunger” is especially strong among those entrepreneurs who do not yet have practical experience in this field of business.

Implementation of this task is promoted by the activities of the European Union’s project “Strengthening agriculture and ecotourism through business associations for sustainable economic development in Central Asia”, which is successfully carried out by the Association of Private Tourism Organizations of Uzbekistan (APTO). Within the framework of this project with the support of the State Committee for Tourism Development, a weeklong training workshop was held in Parkent. Residents of Parkent district attended the event. Participants expressed interest and readiness to master a new type of business. They are attracted by the possibility of organizing and providing tourism services in guest houses.

The program of the workshop was aimed at strengthening the capacity of participants in organization of work and successful management of guest houses. In particular, the curriculum included topics of narrow specialization, but important for successful functioning of guest houses, such as introduction to tourism, creation and management of a guest house, etiquette for receiving and serving tourists. Representatives of Tashkent International Clinic informed the participants how to provide first aid.

The trainers paid special attention to standards applied to sanitary-hygienic conditions in the guest houses. Experienced APTO trainers focused on the importance of effective use of marketing tools. The economic information unit of the weekly workshop was very informative. In addition to issues of pricing for travel services and specifics of creating a business plan, information was also provided about online tourist registration in E-Mehmonhona online program. Representatives of the Tax Committee informed about tax rates for family guest houses.

International experience clearly demonstrates that development of rural tourism results in the emergence of additional sources of income for the local population, mainly due to provision of guest houses for the night, catering and leisure activities for tourists. It should be emphasized that rural tourism contributes to improving the quality of life for families that host tourists, that is, it contributes to a higher standard of living in the regions where the rural tourism industry is developed. So, the knowledge gained in such workshops will serve to further development of rural tourism in Uzbekistan.