Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 17-19 March, Kuala Lumpur, with the support of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture of the Malaysian Association of Travel Companies and Tour Operators (Matta), hosted the tourism exhibition “Matta Fair".

The delegation of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and JSC "Uzbekistan Airways" with the support of the embassy of our country in Malaysia took part in this exhibition with the stand of Uzbekistan.

The Association of Travel Companies and Tour Operators of Malaysia (MATTA) was founded in 1975 and brings together more than 3 thousand travel companies. MATTA has offices throughout the country. Regularly organizes traveling exhibitions "MATTA Fair" in all states of Malaysia

It should be noted that during the exhibition, a presentation was held on the tourism potential of Uzbekistan, as well as a special promotional video was shown.

Also during the event, the participants were provided with information on the large-scale reforms in the tourism sector being carried out in the republic. At the same time, special attention was paid to the comprehensive measures taken by the government of Uzbekistan in the direction of increasing the share of tourism in the country’s economy, accelerating the development of modern tourism infrastructure, diversifying industry services and increasing competitiveness in world markets.

In addition, emphasis was placed on new tourism products and directions of Uzbekistan, opportunities created for tourists at the international airport of Samarkand and the international tourist center "Silk Road Samarkand". As a result of the simplification of the visa regime in recent years, the country has a visa-free regime for citizens of 93 foreign states, including Malaysia, a system of electronic entry visas has been introduced for citizens of another 56 states and a five-day transit visa-free regime for 47 states.

“At this year’s Matta Fair tourism exhibition, Uzbekistan impressed everyone not only with its national stand, but also with a diverse cultural program,” said Adam Hamza, manager of the Matta fair secretariat. - During the presentations, we got acquainted with the renewal processes in Uzbekistan, various tourism products, opportunities created for tourists in the Silk Road Samarkand international tourist center. I am sure that these efforts will certainly contribute to a wider promotion of the tourism potential of the republic and a gradual increase in the flow of visitors.”

It is worth noting that the creative team as part of the delegation on the territory of the exhibition stage and stand of Uzbekistan was the Maqom Ensemble named after Yunus Rajabi, People’s Artists of Uzbekistan Furkatbek Ashiraliev and Elmurod Akhmedov, special attention was paid to the cultural part, consisting of performances by the Song and Dance Ensemble " shodlik" of the State Philharmonic of Uzbekistan.

Unforgettable impressions were made on the participants of the event by Uzbek national dances, classical music and songs, in particular “Katta ashula”, “Lazgi raqsi”, included in the representative list of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, as well as national customs and Uzbek national costumes.

As part of the event, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and responsible officials of our embassy held meetings with specialized tour operators in Malaysia.

“Our travel company is promoting several different tour packages in the direction of Uzbekistan. After the pandemic, such tours as “Cultural Tourism”, “Pilgrimage Tourism”, “Umrah”, “Gastronomic Tourism” are of great interest among Malaysians. In this direction, your country can demonstrate its rich cultural heritage, architecture, hospitality to the whole world,” said Azizul Mukmin, director of the Raha Legacy Holidays travel company. – I myself have been to Uzbekistan more than once and I observe with great interest the large-scale changes carried out by the government of your country in various fields. In particular, rapid developments in tourism and large-scale new projects deserve special attention. This, of course, serves to unlock your huge tourism potential and create new opportunities for representatives of the business community. We wish to hold regular meetings with Uzbek tour operators in the form of B2B in the near future and diversify tour packages.”

Foreign countries showed serious interest in the joint promotion of tourist destinations in Uzbekistan, such brands as "Uzbekistan - the center of Islamic civilization", "Samarkand - the tourist gates of new Uzbekistan".

As a result of the negotiations held during the fair, the participation of the country’s delegation in the Tashkent International Tourism Fair with the support of the Ministry of Tourism, Art and Culture of Malaysia, agreements were reached with such major travel companies as Andalusia Travel & Tours, Golden Destinations, Sedunia Travel ”, “D Asia Travels”, “Triways Travel Network”, “Star Travel”, “Raha Legacy Holidays”, “Felda Travel” to further attract tourists to Uzbekistan.