From January to April 2026, Uzbekistan received 4 million foreign tourists, a 30% increase compared to the same period last year. This was announced on May 15 at a press conference by Abdulaziz Aqqulov, Chairman of the Tourism Committee.

According to the committee head, tourism services worth $1.6 billion were provided to the 4 million foreign visitors in the first four months of the year, marking a 40% growth year-on-year.

By country, tourist arrivals from China increased 3.5 times, from Japan 1.6 times, from Malaysia 2.2 times, from the US 1.4 times, and from France, Britain, Spain, Turkey, and Germany 1.2 times. Under the 'Travel around Uzbekistan' program, 6.844 million domestic trips were made, up 18%.

Aqqulov noted that he attended a session of the European Commission of the World Tourism Organization last week, where the current situation in the tourism market was discussed. Talks highlighted that geopolitical uncertainties, rising aviation fuel prices, and airspace closures are altering trends in tourist flow formation.

For infrastructure development, 400 billion soums were allocated in 2024, 710 billion soums in 2025, and 1.16 trillion soums from the state budget for the current year. Funds will be used for road paving, electricity and water supply, installation of benches and waste bins, and beach improvement.

In 2026-2027, 40,000 jobs are expected to be created in tourism and related sectors, including 24,000 new positions and 16,000 formalized from the shadow economy. In the first four months of this year, six entrepreneurs who built three- and four-star hotels received subsidies totaling 4 billion soums. The number of tourist villages and mahallas reached 44, while tour operators and agents exceeded 4,600.

Source: www.gazeta.uz