This is stated in the draft decree of the President of Uzbekistan “On the Development Strategy of New Uzbekistan for 2022-2026”.

It is planned to adopt a state program for the development of the infrastructure of tourism and cultural facilities and the effective use of more than 8,000 cultural heritage sites. As part of the project “Travel across Uzbekistan!” it is planned to increase the number of local tourists to 12 million and more, foreign tourists – up to 9 million. It is also planned to double the number of people employed in the tourism sector, that is, bringing it to 520 thousand through the widespread introduction of the tourism infrastructure “Tourism without obstacles” in the main tourist cities of the country. It is planned to employ 25,000 people by creating tourism zones and recreation areas in Zaamin, Farish, Bakhmal districts and the implementation of projects worth $300 million.

The document defines the tasks to increase the volume of tourism services by at least 10 times in the next five years by turning Samarkand into a “Tourist Gate”, providing employment for 40 thousand people in this sector and creating the Samarkand Tourist Center in 2022. Ecotourism in Karakalpakstan and the Aral Sea region will be developed. Programs also include further development of tourism in Khorezm and Bukhara regions, the effective use of pilgrimage and ecological tourism potential in Navoi region, the improvement of the tourism infrastructure in Tashkent, and raising Tashkent region’s tourism potential to a new level.

Guzal Sattorova, UzA