New initiative declares 1 weekend a month for traveling across Uzbekistan  

One Saturday and Sunday each month will be designated as a day for "traveling with family and work teams." This announcement was made on April 9 during a videoconference meeting chaired by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, focused on increasing the tourism potential of regions and accelerating investment projects with foreign partners.

During the meeting, it was highlighted that the number of domestic tourists in Uzbekistan has reached 23 million in recent years, a significant increase from 5 million in 2017, due to the country's focus on promoting domestic tourism. However, there are still many families who have not visited key cultural sites such as Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva, and Shakhrisabz. As a result, one Saturday and Sunday of every month will now be dedicated to "traveling with family and work teams."

Additionally, winners of a youth competition will receive a "Travel Around Uzbekistan" ticket. The government will allocate 20 billion sums annually to further promote domestic tourism.

Officials were also instructed to develop measures to foster the growth of extreme tourism in the country.