THE CONCEPT OF ART TOURISM AND ITS KEY FEATURES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60078/3060-4842-2025-vol2-iss5-pp404-415Abstract
This article conceptualizes art tourism as an emerging field at the intersection of culture, creative industries, and visitor experience. Based on content analysis of international/local scholarship (MacCannell, Bourdieu, Florida, Richards) and Uzbekistan’s policy framework (2024 Creative Economy Law), an integrative model is proposed linking: (1) theoretical–legal foundations; (2) practical formats; (3) territorial–urban contexts; and (4) psychosocial functions. The model identifies five features: centrality of aesthetic experience, active participation, artist–audience interaction, embeddedness in the creative economy, and convergence of socio-cultural, economic, and aesthetic value. Uzbek cases (Savitsky Museum, Human House, Art Station, biennials) show institutionalization. Recognizing art tourism as a distinct segment provides a basis for service quality assessment enriched with experiential and affective indicators.
Keywords:
art tourism creative economy cultural tourismReferences
ACDF. (2024). The State Museum of Arts named after I. V. Savitsky continues its large-scale exhibition project "Uzbekistan: Avant-Garde in the Desert.". Uzbekistan Art and Culture Develoment Foundation: https://acdf.uz/news/the-state-museum-of-arts-named-after-i-v-savitsky-continues-its-large-scale-exhibition-project-uzbekistan-avant-garde-in-the-desert.
Akhmedov, T. B. (2021). Curatorial Projects in Fine Arts of Uzbekistan. nternational Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Analysis. https://doi.org/10.47191/ijmra/v4-i10-14.
Biennial, B. (2025). About Bukhara Biennial — biennale platformasi va tarixiy-san’at muhiti haqida. Bukhara Biennial: https://www.bukharabiennial.uz.
Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Burkhonova, M. (2024). Trends in art-historical discourses in museums of Russia, Uzbekistan, and the United Kingdom. American Journal of Social Science and Humanity Research, 85-88. https://doi.org/10.37547/ajsshr/volume05issue03-23.
Filina, T. (2023). Psychological Recreation as Part of Art Tourism. National Academy of Managerial Staff of Culture and Arts Herald.
Florida, R. (2002). The Rise of the Creative Class. New York: Basic Books.
Franklin, A. (.–4. (2018). Art tourism: A new field for tourist studies. Tourist Studies, 18, 399–416. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468797618815025.
Gazieva, S. (2020). Museum tourism of Fergana region. Asian Journal of Multidimensional Research, 9, 98–104. https://doi.org/10.5958/2278-4853.2020.00092.0.
Golubeva, O. (2025). Typology of art-tourism cultural resources based on the example of Izhevsk, Udmurt Republic. Architecton: Proceedings of Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.47055/19904126_2025_1(89)_24.
Jhala, K. (2024). Uzbekistan to get first major biennial in ancient city of Bukhara — ACDF roli, xalqaro va mahalliy ishtirokchilar, joylarni tanlash. The Art Newspaper: https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/09/03/uzbekistan-to-get-first-international-biennial-in-ancient-ci.
MacCannell, D. (1976). The tourist: A new theory of the leisure class. Schocken Books.
Mamajonov, D. (2021). Theatrical art of Uzbekistan during the Soviet period. Asian Journal of Multidimensional Research, 11, 252–256.
Neuendorf, H. (б.д.). How Did a Billion-Dollar Trove of Russian Avant-Garde Art End Up in Uzbekistan? Получено из ArtNet: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/nukus-museum-savitsky-russian-art-302950.
Plyuta, O. (2021). The role of art tourism in the process of forming tourist attractiveness of the territory. National Academy of Managerial Staff of Culture and Arts Herald,, 3. https://doi.org/10.32461/2226-3209.3.2021.244401.
Qonun (2024) O‘zbekiston Respublikasining O‘RQ-970-sonli “Kreativ iqtisodiyot” to‘g‘risidagi” qonuni https://lex.uz/uz/docs/-7129258.
Rakić, T., & Lester, J.-A. (2013). Relationships between travel, tourism and art: an introduction. Travel, tourism and art, 1-10.
Richards, G. (1996). Cultural Tourism in Europe. Wallingford: CABI.
Richards, G. (2018). Cultural tourism: a review of recent research and trends.
Richards, G. (2018). Cultural tourism: A review of recent research and trends. Tourism Management, 64, 237-245.
Sindarovich, U. A.–4. (2021). Architectural-Landscape and Artistic-Technical Modernization and Visualization of the Territories of the Tashkent–Samarkand Railway. Turkish Journal of Computer and Mathematics Education,, 12, 4964–4969. https://doi.org/10.17762/turcomat.v12i10.5261.
Stead, C. (2025). Uzbekistan’s Answer to Biennial Fatigue. Frieze: https://www.frieze.com/article/uzbekistans-answer-biennial-fatigue?utm_source.
Travel&Tourism Development Index. (2024). Получено из World Economic Forum.
Uğuz, S. Ç. (2022). Ayvalik an as Art Route for Tourism Guides Within the Frame of Art Tourism. In: Cases on Tour Guide Practices for Alternative Tourism. В Cases on Tour Guide Practices for Alternative Tourism (стр. 240-256). https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-3725-1.ch013.
Umarova, N., & Djanzakov, T. (2025). Savitskiy Museum in Nukus attracts over 100,000 tourists each year. Kursiv Lifestyle: https://uz.kursiv.media/en/2025-09-15/savitsky-museum-in-nukus-attracts-over-100000-tourists-each-year.
UNESCO. (2022). Culture and Creative Industries: Facts & Figures. Paris, France.
UNESCO. (2023). Culture | 2030. Получено из UNESCO. World Heritage Convention: https://whc.unesco.org/en/culture2030indicators.
UNESCO. (б.д.). The cultural sector represents 3.1% of global GDP and 6.2% of jobs. https://www.unesco.org/en/culture.
UNWTO. (2018). Tourism & Culture Synergies. https://www.e-unwto.org/doi/book/10.18111/9789284418978.
UzDaily. (2025). Museums in Uzbekistan welcomed 4.8 million visitors in 2024; 1.4 million — foreign tourists. https://www.uzdaily.uz/en/museums-in-uzbekistan-welcomed-48-million-visitors-in-2024.
Valek, N. S., & Mura, P. (2022). Art and tourism – a systematic review of the literature. Tourism Review. https://doi.org/10.1108/tr-05-2022-0214.
Самойлова, С. (2025). Nearly five million people visited the museums of Uzbekistan. Nova24 uz: https://nova24.uz/en/uzbekistan-en/nearly-five-million-people-visited-the-museums-of-uzbekistan.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
