Chinese media report on tourism reforms in Uzbekistan

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) - "Uzbekistan paves the way for the return of international tourists." Under this heading, an article was published in one of the leading Hong Kong media outlets "Belt and Road News", dedicated to the tourism potential of our country and the measures taken to develop the industry.

The article notes that Uzbekistan, as a country located at the crossroads of the Great Silk Road, played a historically important role in the development of trade relations and cultural exchange between East and West. Cities such as Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva were centers of culture and education, making an invaluable contribution to the development of ancient civilizations. Today, the masterpieces of architectural monuments that have survived from those times are increasingly attracting tourists from all over the world.

The authors emphasize that the active development of the industry is facilitated by various measures taken by the government of Uzbekistan aimed at increasing the tourist attractiveness of the country, as well as creating favorable conditions for private companies working in this area. In particular, it should be noted that to stimulate foreign tourists to visit Uzbekistan, from 1 March 2021, a 10-day visa-free regime is introduced for Chinese citizens, including the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau. These conditions also apply to countries such as the Kingdom of Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, the Sultanate of Oman.

Uzbekistan intends to increase the number of tourists to 9 million by 2025, which is not an easy task, given all the restrictions associated with the epidemiological situation in the world. However, Belt and Road News notes, along with external tourism, in recent years, domestic tourism has been developing quite actively, which is very important for maintaining the dynamics of the industry in the difficult conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The publication focuses on the issues of training personnel in the field of tourism in Uzbekistan, improving infrastructure in cities and increasing the level of tourist service. All these measures, in turn, open up opportunities for the development of new types of tourism, such as ecotourism, geotourism, mountaineering, extreme, cultural tourism, fishing, rafting and many others, says Belt and Road News.