BEYOND REGISTAN: HOW SHORT-FORM DIGITAL STORYTELLING COULD PROMOTE LESSER-KNOWN CULTURAL EXPERIENCES IN SAMARKAND

Samarkand is widely known for its historic monuments, especially Registan Square, Shah-i-Zinda, and Gur-e-Amir. These places are important, but a visitor's experience of the city can include much more than its best-known sights. Traditional crafts, local food, neighbourhood stories, and the people who keep these traditions alive can also help visitors understand the city. This article explores how short-form digital storytelling on platforms such as Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts could help introduce these less-promoted cultural experiences to potential tourists. The study uses a qualitative literature-based approach. It reviews research on social media, destination image, digital storytelling, and heritage tourism, and considers how these ideas may apply to Samarkand. The review suggests that short videos are most useful when they do more than show attractive views: they should tell a clear story, provide reliable information, represent local people respectfully, and give viewers a practical reason to explore beyond the main attractions. The article also identifies risks, including simplified cultural explanations, staged experiences, misleading information, and the concentration of attention on already popular places. It recommends that tourism organisations work with local guides, artisans, food businesses, and residents when creating content. Since no original survey or platform data were collected, the findings are interpretive rather than statistical. The article concludes that digital storytelling could support a broader and more balanced visitor experience in Samarkand if it is planned with local participation and cultural care.