DIGITAL PAYMENT INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE ECONOMIC YIELD OF TOURISM: THE CASE OF KHOREZM REGION
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/Keywords:
digital payments, tourism, financial inclusion, payment infrastructure, Khorezm region.Abstract
This paper examines how digital payment infrastructure conditions the economic yield of tourism in Uzbekistan. Inbound arrivals and tourism-services exports both rose sharply in 2024, yet visitor expenditure reaches the local economy only through the payment channels available to it. The study draws on official data published by the National Statistics Committee and the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan, combined with a synthesis of international scholarship on financial inclusion and payment adoption in tourism. Using Khorezm region as an illustrative case, it identifies a high regional concentration of tourism activity, a payment infrastructure oriented principally toward resident cardholders, and a structural acceptance gap among small-scale tourism enterprises. Five practical recommendations conclude the paper.
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