16.10.2023

On October 16, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev took part in the opening ceremony of the 25th session of the General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the events of which will proceed in Samarkand until 20 October.

In his address at the main forum of the top organization in tourism sector, with the representatives of over 140 countries participating, the Head of our state put forward a number of important initiatives to further develop the sector.

The Uzbek Leader noted that today, tourism is one of the dynamically developing and promising sectors of the world economy. Uzbekistan attaches great priority to the tourism development within large-scale and irreversible reforms on the modernization of the country.

In recent years, a visa-free regime for nationals of around 100 countries was introduced. A simplified procedure for issuing an electronic visa for nationals of another 55 countries was established.

Favorable conditions for conducting all types of tourism business are created, tax and customs benefits are provided, as well as credit and financial support are strengthened. Despite the restrictions of the pandemic, over 800 infrastructure projects have been implemented in two years.

The number of hotel beds increased to 140 thousand, 70 new tourist routes opened, and 6 private airlines started operating.

As a result, the number of foreign tourists arriving in Uzbekistan doubled. Revenues from the export of services increased 4 times. It is estimated that nearly 7 million tourists will visit our country this year. It is planned to increase this figure to 15 million by 2030 and the flow of domestic tourists – up to 25 million people.

Our large-scale work is being recognized by the international community. In particular, Uzbekistan ranks high in international ratings as the safest and rapidly developing tourism sector.

The Head of Uzbekistan stated that the development of modern tourism and transport infrastructure will be prioritized within the 2030 Strategy on Comprehensive Tourism Development. New high–speed roads and railways will be built, the fleet will be doubled, and the number of flights will be quadrupled. In big cities and places often visited by tourists, 30 large tourist clusters will be established.

According to the National program “Pearls of Ancient History”, the number of tourist attractions will be increased from 800 to 2.5 thousand, 745 cultural heritage sites will be restored, and “open-air museums” will be created in 20 architectural monuments.

As part of the pilgrimage tourism program, the number of tourists will increase more than threefold compared to today’s figure.

The focus will be on creating joint tourist routes with the Central Asian states.

In general, as a result of the ongoing work on tourism development, at least 1 million new jobs planned to be created in the future.

At the same time, the Leader of Uzbekistan noted that “today, the pressing problem of global tourism is ensuring a guaranteed safety system for tourists”. The Head of our state proposed to develop a Global Safe Tourism Code within the UN in order to strengthen the legal framework in international tourism.

In the context of the growing climate change problems, the topicality of the adoption of the International Actions Program on Green Tourism Development was underscored. As practical steps, it was proposed to establish the nomination “The Best City Promoting Green Tourism” within the UNWTO, as well as to create a Global Green Tourism Startups’ Laboratory based on the Central Asian Green University and the “Silk Road” International University of Tourism and Cultural Heritage in Samarkand.

In order to further improve the conditions for travelers with disabilities and develop the inclusive tourism infrastructure, the President of Uzbekistan proposed to declare 2025 as the World Inclusive Tourism Year and adopt a special declaration.

The expediency of creating a Council of Historical Cities for Tourism within the UNWTO, a platform for sharing advanced experience in the preservation of historical monuments, was noted. Readiness to hold the first meeting of the Council in the city of Bukhara was expressed.

The President announced allocating special grants to train specialists in the newly established International Tourism Academy in Samarkand, which is a unique UNWTO educational institution for the training and advanced training of personnel in the tourism sector.

The President also proposed to hold the next Global Youth Tourism Summit in Tashkent, which will become an important platform for youth to generate new ideas and projects for the development of the sector.

The initiative to establish a special UNWTO international award for contribution to the promotion of the “Silk Road” brand was put forward. The Thematic Office “The Silk Road” established in Samarkand will be actively engaged in the implementation of this plan.

Attention was drawn to the importance of establishing the Global Media Campus and holding its forums every two years as part of the General Assembly sessions. Readiness to host the first media campus in Uzbekistan was expressed.

The Head of our state encouraged delegates to support the initiative of announcing Samarkand as the World Cultural Tourism Capital and adopt a declaration.

Concluding his speech, the President wished a successful holding of the General Assembly and achievement of new breakthrough results.