Reference no: EM131292931

Central Asia conjures up all kinds of mystic and romantic images for Europeans and others who have no experience of it. Whether it is reading about the expeditions of Marco Polo or listening to the music of Mussorgsky, the image seems quite distinct from that of other parts of the world. Names of places such as Samarkand and Bukhara add to this illusion, bringing into the imagination images of cities glittering with golden palaces and jewel-bedecked rulers.

Some people think that the future of Bukhara in Central Asia lies very much in its past. In the days when the Silk Road was the main highway to the Orient it was crowded with businessmen, merchants, camels and camel drivers. Warehouses full of silk, brocade, cotton, carpets, gold and silverwork were dotted along its route. Today, however, Bukhara still has spectacular buildings in fantastic shape, fitting epitaphs to its illustrious past. The Lyab-I-Khauz pool is entertaining. It is surrounded by plane trees and is a place where locals and foreigners alike can go to eat shashlyk or drink plov or tea.

On the east side of the pool is the Nadir Divanbegi madrasa, built around 1620. Above its main entrance are fantastic mosaics including the sun with a Mongol face, two strange birds and a goat. Such mosaics are not completely contrary to all Muslim teaching, only to Sunni teaching. On the west side of the pool is what was once a khanaga, a hostel for wandering dervishes.

Today, however, it is an exhibition hall. On the north side of the pool is the Kukeldash madrasa, the largest in Bukhara, with over 150 cells, or rooms, and an enormous courtyard inside. In Bukhara there are different bazaars. One such bazaar is the Tag-I-Telpag Furushon where it is possible to purchase quality astrakhan hats and goldembroidered skullcaps.

In Samani Park one finds the spring of Jacob (or Job, according to some) which is considered by some to possess miraculous powers of healing. Then there is the Ark or Fortress or original Walled City, which contained royal apartments, reception rooms, stables, mosques, a treasury, police department, prison and homes for around 3000 people. It was destroyed time and time again in the 10th, 11th, 13th and 20th centuries. Bukhara used to be one of the world's most famous religious and trading cities. Some regard it now as simply an overnight stop for package tourists on their way to and from China.

Question
1. Assume a tourism promotion agency is to be set up in Bukhara. Suggest a research proposal that could be implemented in order to establish how the concepts of market segmentation, targeting and positioning and the marketing mix might be profitably applied to re-establish Bukhara as a tourist destination rather than merely an overnight stop in the minds of tourists.