Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a meeting where he discussed issues related to increasing the country's tourism potential and accelerating the implementation of investment projects.

Special attention was given to boosting tourist flows from the Gulf countries. Currently, the tourist audience from these nations is around 3 million people, but most of them prefer to vacation in countries like Albania, Croatia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, where visa-free regimes are in place. Mirziyoyev proposed extending the visa-free regime for citizens of Arab countries from 10 to 30 days, believing this could lead to a 5–6 times increase in tourist traffic.

Additionally, the president emphasized the need to simplify the visa process for tourists from India, Pakistan, Egypt, and Iran. He also underscored the importance of expanding air travel with various countries, including Europe, Japan, and Korea, building on the successful experience of working with Russia and China.

Uzbekistan continues to actively develop its aviation infrastructure: the country has already reached agreements to purchase 14 Airbus aircraft and lease 5 more, with negotiations ongoing for the purchase of 12 new Boeing aircraft. Relevant authorities have been tasked with calculating the number of flights and the expected number of tourists who could be attracted by these new opportunities.

Moreover, the president announced the launch of a program aimed at attracting 100,000 pilgrims from Malaysia and Indonesia via flights from Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta to Samarkand and Bukhara, followed by travel to Jeddah. There is also a goal to accelerate the creation of a unified tourist platform for online visa applications and the purchase of transportation tickets.