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attention in terms of its biodiversity conservation, reforming the existing infrastructure and redirecting local communities towards other sustainable and environment friendly activities and livelihoods. Marketing surveys shows that 90 percent of all visitors to the Aktash-Khumsan zone are so called ‘unorganized’ tourists, who independently arrange and come to take a rest here. A great majority of them (over 60 percent) are citizens of the capital of Uzbekistan, about 30 percents arrive from the towns and districts of the Tashkent region, and remaining 10 percent includes tourists from the other parts of Uzbekistan, personnel of international organizations accredited to the country, and tourists from other states, particularly Kazakhstan, Russia and non-CIS countries. A tourist potential of Khumsan is influenced by many various factors such as affordable prices for services and tourist product, and region’s opportunities. In Khumsan, an average visitation rate is 10,000 persons per season, in the Khumsan-Aktash zone – no less than 120,000 including one-day visits. A gross revenue may reach US$ 4-8 millions. In the village Brichmulla, 80 percent of ‘unorganized’ tourist activity is exercised by citizens of the Tashkent, the rest falling mostly to the share of residents from the Tashkent region and other regions of the country. The share of foreigners is very marginal here and makes up less than one percent. The tourist capacity of the village is 30,000 – 50,000 people; 100,000 – 150,000 people per season stay for rest in the close vicinity of the village. The tourist activity in Chimgan has the following characteristic feature: - the main tourist flow (80-85 percent) falls at the summer period including later spring and early autumn; in winter, 15-20 percent of tourists come to enjoy winter sports and rest and/or celebrate a New Year holiday or other events; - a great majority of visitors are youth and people of mature age (90 percent); - foreigners make up about five percent; - preferences in rest are hiking, relaxation, skiing; - congress-tours and workshops are popular in spring and winter and normally short. This region is open for travelers spring through late autumn. A wide choice of pass complexity (from 2,000 to 4,000 m) enables to go on a hike or horseback ride, go rafting, or indulge in speleology, ornithology, botany, and many other active and cognitive forms of tourist activity and rest. The local fauna includes 44 mammal, over 200 bird, 16 reptile, two amphibian, and 20 fish species. Flora of the West Tien Shan consists of more than 2,200 plant species. An ascending traveler will cross five vegetation zones: 700-1,200 m – ephemeral, 1,200-1,500 m – deciduous-arboreal-shrubby; to 2,300 m – juniperous; to 2,800 m – thorny; and above 2,800 m – alpine vegetation. Some 650 plant species are used in medicine and 400 – in food industry. An evaluation of the national tour operators’ interests in ecological tourist routes is an urgent task for researchers, especially in terms of marketing and planning. Today, 400 firms have licenses to render tourist services in Uzbekistan. Under the EuropeAid Interstate biodiversity project in the West Tien Shan, involving Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the Association of Travelers “Rabat-Malik” has conducted a 10 percent mechanical nonrepeated sampling of special organizations in Tashkent and the Tashkent region (according to the list presented by the National Company “Uzbektourism”), which are located near the Ugam-Chatkal national park. The questionnaires were distributed among 40 firms. 21 of them (51 percent) filled in the questionnaires and returned them; 10 firms refused to fill in the forms for their own reasons and other nine – for their non tour operator activity (hotel and transportation services). Therefore we have had the feedback from five percent of the total amount of firms involved in the tourist industry. First of all, the experts of “Rabat Malik” tried and evaluated technical capabilities of the operators. Table 1 demonstrates that half of the tour operators have been functioning since the year of 2000; that is they are relatively ‘young’ in the travel industry. Only about 24 percent of the respondents with more than 15-year experience are considered as ‘sharks’ in this business and perfectly know the market of tourist services. Over 67 percent of the tour operators to have taken part in the questioning have staff consisting of three to 10 full-time employees, however, many more can be additionally contracted