DUSHANBE, March 6, Asia-Plus -- Representatives from restaurant and hotel business from Dushanbe and nearby districts will take training course to raise their professionalism.  

Some 200 employees of restaurants and hotels will be instructed in standards of service under the “Creation of School of National Tourism” project financed by the Eurasian Foundation of Central Asia (EFCA) as part of the Open Door Program.  

Rukhshona Najmiddinova, Media and Outreach Coordinator, the EFCA Dushanbe Office, said that EFCA had awarded a $13,000 grant to Shohrohi Abreshim-Shorohi Vahdat National Foundation for implementing this project.  

“The objective of project is to raise level of service at restaurants and hotels in Dushanbe and tourism areas,” said Najmiddinova, “The project participants include more than 10 restaurants and hotels of Tajikistan.”  According to her, their contribution to the training for their employees amounts to $4,000, while a total project cost is $17,000.   

The training will be conducted by Tajik trainers, who will be instructed by experts invited from Kyrgyzstan. 

The training will be conducted stage by stage, during eight months, in the building of International Research, Cultural and Tourism Center SilkRoadLand in the Varzob gorge.   .

The Open Door Program is a mainstay of the EFCA grant-making portfolio.  Through this program, EFCA reviews all proposals that fit within one of its mandated focus areas - private enterprise development, community development, education and public administration.

According to the Committee for Youth, Sports and Tourism under the Government of Tajikistan, some 30,000 tourists visited Tajikistan last year, which is 40 percent more than in 2005.