Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) - A presentation of the tourism potential of Uzbekistan was held at the Consulate General of Uzbekistan in St. Petersburg.

It was organized by the diplomatic mission of Uzbekistan together with the representative office of Uzbekistan Airways, Dunyo reported.

It was attended by representatives of government agencies and leading experts in the tourism sector of the Russian Federation, as well as the media.

The participants of the event got acquainted with the new achievements and directions of the tourism industry of our republic, its opportunities to attract foreign tourists. It was especially noted that Uzbekistan attaches great importance to the preservation of priceless architectural monuments, the development of a modern hotel infrastructure that meets high international standards.

The diplomatic mission demonstrated video and photo presentations of historical cities and architectural monuments of Uzbekistan.

During the event, participants were also acquainted with the excursion program “Uzbek Petersburg” with coverage of the facts of diplomatic relations between the embassies of the Bukhara Emirate and Russia in the pre-revolutionary period.

During the meeting, prospects for the development of tourism both from Uzbekistan to St. Petersburg and in the opposite direction were discussed. Particular attention was paid to the possibility of organizing the exchange of children's sightseeing groups between countries.

Evgeni Pankevich, Chairman of the Smolny Tourism Development Committee, noted a growing interest in general cooperation with both Uzbekistan and other CIS countries. Historically, St. Petersburg is an excellent platform for developing a common concept for promoting tourism. With the support of the Committee and the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the CIS countries, it is planned to create a “Travel Hub of the CIS countries”, where participants will be able to constantly present the tourism opportunities of their countries and establish business relations.

According to the author of the tourist route “Uzbek Petersburg”, historian and orientalist Igor Voevodsky, St. Petersburg and Uzbekistan have long-standing friendly, diplomatic and trade relations. They started back in 1717, when an embassy from the Bukhara Khanate headed by Kulibek Topchi Bashi came to the new capital to Tsar Peter the Great. The new tourist route tells about little-known historical facts and, undoubtedly, will be very interesting to Uzbek tourists coming to the city on the Neva.