Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Today, on 2 June, in the ancient city of Khiva, the official opening of the XII session of the Islamic Conference of Ministers of Tourism took place under the slogan “Khiva - a tourist city of the Islamic world in 2024.”

The conference was attended by Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Hussein Ibrahim Toha, Secretary General of the Organization of Economic Cooperation Khusrav Naziri, Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change Aziz Abdukhakimov, high-ranking guests, representatives of foreign delegations, representatives of domestic and foreign media.

At the beginning of the event, the Chairman of the XI session of the Islamic Conference of Tourism Ministers (ICTM) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) (Republic of Azerbaijan) handed over the chairmanship to the Republic of Uzbekistan.

In his welcoming speech, Aziz Abdukhakimov noted that under the leadership of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, large-scale reforms are being carried out to transform tourism into one of the strategic areas of our economy.

“At the end of 2023, the tourism sector in Uzbekistan has been fully restored. 7 million tourists visited our country. 21 million trips were made in the direction of domestic tourism. Exports of tourism services exceeded US$2.1 billion, accounting for 40 percent of total exports of services, the minister said. - Today, 370 thousand people are employed in the sector. Thanks to the dynamic tourism business environment, the benefits provided, and infrastructure solutions, tourism is becoming popular among the population, especially young people. Diversification of tourism has helped increase the length of stay of foreign tourists in Uzbekistan from 3-4 days in 2017 to 8-10 days today.”

Abdukhakimov noted that during its chairmanship, Uzbekistan will pay special attention to the formation of “tourism of the future” on the territory of the OIC, the implementation of the “Smart Tourist Destinations” program, the “Islamic Tourist Centers” program and mega-infotours on them, the creation of the “OIC Tourism Infrastructure Development Fund” ", strengthening sponsorship and charity activities for the restoration and conservation of heritage sites valuable to Islamic civilization. He put forward proposals such as the formation of the OIC Ecotourism Network and the establishment of close cooperation between the UN Tourism Organization and the International Academy of Tourism in Samarkand.

OIC Secretary General Hussein Ibrahim Taha expressed gratitude to President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the government and people of Uzbekistan for the high level of organization of this conference, as well as for the warm welcome and hospitality.
“The growing interest in Islamic tourism provides member states with significant advantages in developing and leading the industry. Collective coordination on the use of the halal supply chain is essential for the promotion of Islamic tourism as it has now become one of the most influential sectors driving economic growth and also offers the opportunity to significantly improve tourism within the OIC. This represents an excellent opportunity for Member States to benefit from the economic, cultural and social benefits of this rapidly growing sector,” Hussein Ibrahim Taha.

The Secretary-General also called on member states of the Organization to expand cooperation in the field of pilgrimage tourism and exchange best practices.

The Director General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Salim al-Malik, emphasized Uzbekistan’s vast experience, forward-thinking policies and commitment to developing tourism under the leadership of the President of the country. He expressed confidence that the chairmanship of Uzbekistan will bring serious results and raise tourism cooperation in the OIC space to a qualitatively new level.

The tourism potential of Uzbekistan was presented to the conference participants. The rich cultural heritage of our country, holy places that attract Islamic tourists, as well as new tourist sites and promising routes are presented.

Two working sessions were organized during the Conference. At the first session, the agenda and work program of the Ministerial Conference were adopted, as well as the report of the chairman of the meeting of senior officials of the XII session of the ICTM was heard, and reports of delegations of OIC member states were heard.

At the second working session, statements by ministers and heads of delegations were announced, a decision was considered and a decision was made on the further development of the tourism sector in the OIC space. In addition, the date and place of the XIII session of the ICTM were determined, and the OIC tourist cities for 2025, 2026 and 2027 were determined. At the end of the event, the final speeches of the OIC Secretary General and the Chairman of the XII session of the ICTM were heard.

Within the framework of the XI session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, held in Baku in 2022, it was decided for the first time to declare one of the cities of Uzbekistan, Khiva, a “tourist city of the Islamic world” in 2024. The main factors for the victory were the recognition by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation of reforms such as visa facilitation, preservation of cultural heritage, and improvement of historical cities.

Moreover, the restoration of the historical appearance of the city of Khiva, the restoration and conservation work carried out, as well as the dismantling of electrical poles, conditions for receiving a large flow of tourists, improvement of infrastructure, construction of a 5-star hotel, as well as the construction of boutique hotels and hostels were especially noted. In addition, the favorable conditions created for entrepreneurs in tourism and related fields were highly appreciated.