Whether scrolling through Instagram, TikTok, Youtube, or whatever social media platform that occupies your very limited free time, you’re bound to see ads featuring happy couples or ardent hikers telling you to travel to Bora Bora, Vietnam, and Paris. These ads are often paid for by the country themself (their department of tourism) or some travel company to promote and feature their image. They’re easy to scroll past, but the post inevitably leaves an impression on you of the place. That is one way we come to have an idea of what various countries look like — from snippets from advertisements and commercials
But they’re not just ads that you see. You also could see your friend’s honeymoon pictures in Tanzania, a schoolmate’s study abroad instagram page in Prague, or read a blog from a man in his midlife crisis traveling the world. This is a different kind of image that presents you with a different vision of the destination. A 2018 study conducted by Fayzullaev, Heldt Cassel, and Brandt calls this image the “destination image,” which is defined as “a multidimensional concept covering three different parts: touristic landscape of destination, projected destination image, and perceived destination image.” Online, these posts are the best way to get an idea of what a country or city genuinely looks and feels like.
Since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Uzbekistan has been in the process of perfecting its destination image through official photos and posts on their tourist website, advertisement abroad, and the promotion of tourist agencies nationally (Fayzullaev, et al.,2021). A country with such a rich history going back to the Mongols Empire, Silk Road, and beyond has a lot to work with — for them it is a decision about which of their many options to put on display. Before going to Uzbekistan last month I didn’t know what to expect. I had seen some photos on Google and heard about its Silk Road history, but didn’t have a sense of what we were going to see there, who we were going to talk to (or even if we could talk to them given the language differences), or where we would be living. But that was not because of the lack of information available. As the study finds, there are plenty of photos and stories from Uzbekistan to go around.
This information comes in two forms — the first and most fine-tuned is the official government narrative, the DMO (Destination Marketing Organizations) destination image. The second, and more “representative” is the UGC (User Generated Content) — what can be found all over social media (Fayzullaev, et al., 2021). These do differ as the DMOs have a certain agenda they are trying to push often in the name of profit. In the case of Uzbekistan, the country is trying to move on from its socialist identity of being a part of the USSR. It is trying to differentiate itself from all the new “-stan” nations that emerged after the fall of the Union. It’s a nation building process.
While in Uzbekistan, I found out how they went about differentiating themselves (at least from Kazakhstan, the only other -stan I’ve been to): through architecture and cultural heritage sites. Rest stops on the Silk Road that turned into cities were clearly the focus of Uzbek tourism, while cuisine, nature, and cultural events took to the sideline. Fayzullaev, et al. confirms this. A vast majority of DMO posts (86.6%) focus on heritage/sightseeing, and a similarly high percentage of UGC posts (65.1%) similarly highlight the architecture, museums, and traditional clothing (Fayzullaev, et al., 2021).
After my trip to Uzbekistan, I categorized my photos into similar categories as Fayzullaev, et al. In my photos, there was a similar trend. Over half (57%) of significant photos I took (non-repeats), were heritage/sightseeing. One third of the photos focus on nature/people. Most of these are images of either stray cats or dogs (or camels!), or of the various ancient fortresses we visited on the road. Many of these were posted on a shared Instagram account (@the_quadabroad) for friends and family to see. Through these, my personal connections now have a sense of what Uzbekistan is like (at least for the average tourist). Generally, my photos aligned better with the destination image produced by the UGC. This makes sense as in Uzbekistan I was a tourist (as most of those who post on Instagram likely are) and saw the hot tourist destinations in Uzbekistan — Samarkand, Khiva, Bukhara, Tashkent.
According to the study, the photo count, and my anecdotal experience as a tourist, cultural experiences and heritage sites are the predominant attraction of Uzbekistan tourism. Given the amount of attention paid to the marketing of these sites online and in person, this seems to be the government’s primary focus as well. My photos, both those that I will share with my family and those posted on Instagram, will contribute to this trend of the Uzbek destination image centered on architecture and cultural sites.
Works Cited:
Fayzullaev, Kamoliddin, Susanna Heldt Cassel, and Daniel Brandt. 2021. “Destination Image in Uzbekistan – Heritage of the Silk Road and Nature Experience as the Core of an Evolving Post Soviet Identity.” The Service Industries Journal 41 (7–8): 446–61. https://doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2018.1519551.
