Similarly to other destinations around the world, tourism in Uzbekistan is reaching back to pre-Covid figures, and, with almost 7 million international visitors in 2023, the country has set itself the ambitious goal of attracting over 10 million visitors this year and reach 15 million yearly foreign tourists by 2030.
Presenting the country’s tourism potential and plans for contributing to the further development of the sector, newly appointed Ambassador to Belgium, H.E. Gayrat Fozilov, welcomed a small group of people at the Embassy in Brussels on 26 January.
Our country abounds with historical, cultural and natural sights, has great opportunities in medical, ecological, gastronomic, ethno- and extreme tourism.
H.E. Gayrat Fozilov, Ambassador of Uzbekistan to Belgium
In 2019, Uzbekistan welcomed 6.7 million foreign tourists. Setting a goal for 7 million in 2023, the country stopped just close of full recovery, at 6.63 million international visitors, 26.9% more than the 5.2 million in 2022. However, with the tourism industry being at the core of a series of large-scale reforms, Uzbekistan hopes for 10.57 million this year and 15 million by 2030.
Towards that aim, investment in tourism infrastructure has greatly increased over the past few years, with $1 billion dollars directed to improve the tourist infrastructure of Samarkand alone, including for the Silk Road International Tourism Centre. The ancient city of Bukhara is to be transformed by a project as large as the one in Samarkand, increasing its visibility on the radar of international tourists, while preserving its cultural, ethnographic and architectural identity.
To diversify the offer and reduce the seasonality of tourism influx, Uzbekistan is working on a “Travel in every season” strategy. “Within its framework, activities will be implemented to promote ecological, extreme, medical and health tourism in spring and autumn, water and resort tourism in summer, and extreme and ski tourism in winter. Festivals will be organised for the opening of tourist seasons”, Ambassador Fozilov explained.
Moreover, a visa-free regime has been introduced for 93 countries and, for an additional 57 countries, the visa application process has been simplified and turned digital. At the same time, 6 new private airlines have started operating, increasing the options and convenience of reaching Uzbekistan, while 6 major airports are to be renovated by 2030.
To ensure that once they reach Uzbekistan, tourists can easily travel around the country to discover multiple destinations, 6 high speed trains will soon start operating on the Tashkent-Samarkand and Navoi-Bukhara routes, for which 600 kilometres of additional railways are being built. Starting from 2025, high-speed trains will run on the Tashkent-Khiva route and, from 2026, it will be extended to the city of Nukus. Toll motorways will also be built on the Tashkent-Samarkand and Tashkent-Andijan routes, which should halve current travel times.
