TASHKENT — Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on September 19 chaired a government meeting on measures to further increase the domestic and inbound tourism potential, the president’s website reported.
It was said at the meeting that Uzbekistan’s tourism industry is recovering from the pandemic this year. By September this year, the number of foreign tourists who visited Uzbekistan has tripled compared to 2021. Since the beginning of the year, the volume of tourist exports amounted to $926 million. The length of stay of foreign tourists has increased to an average of 4-5 days, and their spending – up to $305.
The number of domestic tourists increased 3.5 times compared to last year and reached 7.5 million people.
One job created in tourism creates two additional jobs in related industries. That is, tourism is an important resource for providing employment, increasing income and exporting services.
At the initiative of the President, the International Tourist Center “The Great Silk Road” was established in Samarkand. This multifunctional center includes 8 modern hotels, a congress center, the Eternal City complex, an amphitheater and many other facilities. It is capable of serving 2 million tourists a year.
The President gave the instructions on attracting tourists to this complex, promoting the brand “Samarkand – Tourism Gateway of New Uzbekistan” in cooperation with the embassies and foreign companies.
The Ministry of Transport was given a task to effectively use the capabilities of the modernized Samarkand International Airport, remove the restrictions on flights of foreign airlines, and increase the number of international flights.
The proposals were put forward for the development of safari tourism in the steppe regions of Karakalpakstan, Bukhara, Kashkadarya, Navoi, Surkhandarya, Fergana and Khorezm regions.
Another promising direction is pilgrimage tourism. There are more than 1.2 thousand shrines in Uzbekistan. It was noted that by fully using this opportunity, it would be possible to attract at least 1 million tourists a year.
The instructions were given to increase flights from Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Arab countries, as well as to train qualified guides, improve conditions and roads in places of pilgrimage.
“Tourism means investment, exports, new jobs and poverty reduction. Therefore, it is necessary to pay a serious attention to this direction in each region and attract more tourists,” President Mirziyoyev said.
It was said at the meeting that there are all opportunities to attract 7 million foreign and 12 million domestic tourists next year, increasing the export of tourism services to $2 billion.