Mirziyoyev: Most governors don’t grasp the potential of tourism  

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev criticized regional governors for their lack of initiative in developing tourism, saying many of them “do not understand what a big trend tourism is.” He made the remarks on April 9 during a videoconference focused on increasing regional tourism potential and accelerating investment projects with foreign partners.

During the meeting, the President pointed out that more than a month into the tourism season, only a capsule house complex had been opened in Kitab. He criticized the remaining 35 districts and cities for being “shy” and failing to take action.

To encourage development, the government will allocate subsidies of up to 10 million sums from the Tourism Fund for the construction and furnishing of capsule houses.

Concerns were also raised over the poor condition of both main and internal roads in popular tourist destinations such as Khorezm, Bukhara, Kashkadarya, and Surkhandarya. Officials were instructed to carry out assessments and begin repair work on roads included in the “tourism ring.”

It was reported that tourism exports have increased 1.6 times in recent years, reaching $3.5 billion. Additionally, more than 2,000 new entrepreneurs have entered the sector. In a major milestone, Uzbekistan welcomed over 10 million foreign tourists last year.

The President highlighted that tourism and service infrastructure across the country is developing rapidly. Over the past eight years, local and international investors have invested $6.5 billion, resulting in the creation of 130,000 hotel rooms. Another 30,000 rooms are expected to be added this year.

A new international ski resort is also being constructed on the Golden Belt peak in Parkent, with interest shown by the French ski resort Courchevel in bringing European-standard tourism infrastructure to Uzbekistan’s mountainous regions.

“We will not stop there. Our rich historical and cultural heritage, beautiful and unique nature will be enough to increase the number of tourists by two to three times,” the President said.

Looking ahead, a long-term tourism strategy is being developed through 2040, with the goal of increasing tourism’s share in the national economy to 7 percent and boosting export revenues from the sector to $10 billion.