The primary aspiration of this paper is to learn about the effects of economic growth, energy consumption, agriculture and irrigation water consumption and agriculture productivity on environmental pollution in five countries of Central Asia. The data cover the period from 1992 to 2020 by applying panel data models, namely the Panel FMOLS, Panel DOLS and Panel ARDL-PMG approaches. The results indicate that there is a positive long-term impact of economic growth, water productivity, energy consumption and electricity production on CO₂ emissions while agriculture value added and trade openness have a negative and statistically significant influence on CO₂ emissions in Central Asia. Country specific short-run coefficients from Panel ARDL reveal that energy consumption is the main driver for rise in the level of CO₂ emissions in the countries under the study. Indeed, country level analysis generates unique nexus correlation among agriculture, energy and environmental degradation in each country of Central Asia.

Evaluating the current ecotourism situation in the Aral Sea region of Uzbekistan and offering strategies for its sustainable development are the main objectives of the study. The threats, opportunities, weaknesses and strengths (TOWS) analysis was applied to identify the required management strategies. The article aims to review the literature on ecotourism promotion in the Aral Sea region. Based on TOWS, the results show that state support during the pandemic should be strategically coordinated to secure the sustainability of the ecotourism industry in Uzbekistan.

Central Asian (CA) countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan) are assumed to be one of the most attractive tourist destinations since this particular geographical location holds immense potential in tourism products. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the flourishing tourism sector of these countries has been immensely affected. The aim of this study is to examine the impact of Central Asian tourists' risk attitudes toward traveling during the COVID-19 pandemic through consideration of sociodemographic characteristics. The research was conducted during January through April 2021 based on a sample of 966 respondents via an online questionnaire. In the survey, risks are divided into four main categories: health, psychological, financial and travel destination. Nominal regression was used to identify the way in which risk perception affected travel intentions during COVID-19 and the research findings indicate that Central Asian tourists’ risk perception has done so. Hygiene, disinfection and a reliable health system in destinations (21%) will be leading factors in future travel.

Tourism, with a high economic and social significance for the economy of many countries, is one of the fastest developing fields. A new challenge of transition to an innovative way of developing tourism industry is strongly proposed with the result of existing conditions of fierce rivalry in the field, economic and political instability in many regions, including the Republic of Uzbekistan, the fast-growing needs and demands of tourists. Therefore, destinations, importantly, have to determine their competitiveness to figure out their strengths and weaknesses and thereby develop their future conditions. The authors discuss the issues related to the innovation in tourism destinations and present its main directions in the sector, as well as factors affecting the innovative development of the fieldin Khorezm region of Uzbekistan. Moreover, the chapter illustrates the principles and basic requirements for the system of managing innovative activities in tourism destinations at macro, mesa, and microeconomic levels.

Tourism as an emerging sector in Uzbekistan has been facing consistent reforms since 2016, aiming to diversify business opportunities. But, the unexpected COVID-19 pandemic has disturbed the plans. This study is to understand the current situation of the tourism business suffering from the pandemic and discloses the priority needs of tourism entities to survive during the crises. A structured questionnaire consisting of 15 questions is used to assess the issues of interest. Two hundred seventy nine valid questionnaires collected from tourism stakeholders are analyzed. The study results reveal that business revenue shows a significant decline during the pandemic and stakeholders are expecting a short-term financial support from the government. The role of the government in terms of assisting the tourism industry to revive after the pandemic is critical. Further, it is necessary to build strong cooperation between governments and tourism establishments to cope with adverse consequences due to the pandemic.