Towards a Competitive MICE Tourism Ecosystem in Uzbekistan: Organizational and Economic Perspectives

Meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) tourism has  emerged as one of the most valuable and resilient segments of the global visitor  economy, generating higher per-capita spending, filling off-peak seasonal gaps and  strengthening a destination's international business profile. Uzbekistan, having  liberalized its tourism policy since 2017 and set an ambitious target of twenty million  annual international arrivals by 2030, has identified MICE tourism as a strategic  diversification priority alongside ecological, gastronomic, medical and pilgrimage  tourism. This article examines the organizational and economic foundations required for Uzbekistan to build a genuinely competitive MICE ecosystem.