Perceptions and Practices of Tourism Professionals in Transitional Economies Across Data Quality, Access, and Innovation

This paper explores how tourism professionals in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan interact with tourism-related data in their professional settings. Drawing on a survey of 793 individuals, the study examines perceptions of data reliability, ease of access, digital engagement, and institutional trust. While the research focuses on Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, the intention is to identify patterns that reflect broader challenges found in transitional tourism systems. The analysis, which combines descriptive statistics, regression, and clustering methods, reveals little variation between countries or across respondent profiles. Views on data systems appear to be shaped less by individual background and more by the broader conditions under which professionals operate. Those who report frequent use of digital tools are slightly more inclined to trust the data they access. Further, several interdependencies were noted among the four dimensions, suggesting that data systems function as integrated environments. A cluster analysis produced three distinct user profiles: those who work with available data despite doubts about its quality, those who are critical and hesitant to adopt new tools, and those who are engaged with digital platforms and optimistic about governance reforms. These findings point to the need for more nuanced, context-aware strategies to improve tourism data systems globally.