Umid Shadiev, chairman of Tourism Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan, gives a keynote speech at the opening ceremony. Photo: Courtesy of the Embassy of Uzbekistan in China

The Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection, and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Tourism Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan jointly inaugurated the 2024 Tourism Year of Uzbekistan in China and Uzbekistan-China Tourism Investment Forum in Beijing on December 3.  

The event aims to deepen cooperation between China and Uzbekistan in the fields of tourism and investment, bringing together political and business leaders and industry experts to jointly explore Uzbekistan's rich tourism resources and potential investment opportunities.

Umid Shadiev, chairman of Tourism Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan told the Global Times that the outlook for the Uzbekistan-China tourism markets is promising. In 2023, the inbound tourist volume from Uzbekistan was only 25,000. While in the first nine months of 2024, the outbound tourist volume to Uzbekistan was 50,000. "We're looking at opportunities to have even greater numbers [of tourists]. We are increasing the number of flights," Shadiev noted. 

During the 2023 forum, there were only 18 flights per week from China to Uzbekistan, and now the number has increased to 54. "Our targets are set to reach two 'hundreds.' The first is we will have 100 flights per week, connecting the cities in Uzbekistan and China. The second 100 is we want to have a million tourists from China," elaborated Shadiev.

To reach these goals, his team is promoting Uzbekistan as an attractive tourist destination in China through marketing campaigns. Shadiev said that during the tourism year, the Uzbek Tourism Committee will attend four tourism industry fairs in China. The committee will also organize about 10 roadshows, visiting cities in China to promote new destinations with direct flights to Uzbekistan. 

In 2023, Uzbekistan positioned the tourism sector as the driver of its economy. In 2024, the country has set the target of hosting 10 million tourists, which is four times the yearly volume in 2017. As Chinese people are culturally and traditionally very close to Uzbekistan, Shadiev said that China could be the main source of tourists. "We want to present the cities along the great Silk Road as the main destinations for Chinese tourists," he added. 

Talking about investment, Sulaymanov Djamshid, representative of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan in China, told the Global Times that investors will find sectors such as construction resources, new energy, and auto parts promising. 

Djamshid noted that tourism investment could focus on industry-related infrastructure like hotels and resorts. He said that the in-depth tour in the country is still a blue ocean to develop. 

As a historical gateway to civilizations, Uzbekistan aims to attract more tourists from all over the world through increasing its visibility in human-to-human contact. 

"There are so many similarities between our peoples. We are all welcoming and hospitable. This is what unites us. People will get to know more about each other. They will rediscover the ancient Silk Road that existed earlier than the medieval times. We will try to showcase the uniqueness of our culture," said Shadiev.