Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 17 November 2021, a tourism forum was held between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Russian Federation in the format of video conference within the framework of the Second Forum of Uzbek-Russian Interregional Cooperation.

The event was attended by the leadership of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, deputy khokims of Bukhara, Samarkand and Khorezm regions on tourism, sports and culture, heads of Associations in the field of tourism and representatives of travel companies of Uzbekistan.

The Russian delegation included the leadership of the Federal Agency for Tourism of the Russian Federation and the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, ministers of the Chelyabinsk Region and the Republic of Crimea, representatives of the mayor’s offices of Moscow, St. Petersburg, as well as travel associations, alliances and travel companies of Russia.

The Uzbek side presented presentations and information on the tourism potential of Uzbekistan and the development of the republic’s tourism industry, measures to support the private sector by the state during a pandemic, the conditions created to receive foreign visitors, the development of tourism infrastructure, diversification of routes, ensuring the safety of tourists, types of tourism, in particular cultural , pilgrimage, gastronomic, winter, ethno, as well as the participants familiarized with the tourist centers and ancient cities of our country.

As the First Deputy Minister of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Uzbekistan Ulugbek Azamov noted, the Russian Federation occupies one of the leading places in cooperation with Uzbekistan in the field of tourism and Russian citizens very actively visit the republic as tourists. It was noted with satisfaction that the flow of visitors from Russia to Uzbekistan is increasing annually, and in the pre-pandemic 2019 this figure reached 455,470 people.

“Today, the country is taking concrete steps to promote the tourism potential and increase the recognition of Uzbekistan in Russia. So, for example, this year a delegation of representatives of the Ministry of Tourism and tour operators of the republic held a promotional event "Travel to Uzbekistan" in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Makhachkala and Grozny. In Uzbekistan, filming of the programs "Let’s go, let’s go" of the NTV channel, "Surprise me" of the TV channel "My Planet" and others, as well as several groups of authoritative travel bloggers visited the country’s tourist centers.

 Joint work with the Association of Tourist Operators of Russia (ATOR) continues to actively promote Uzbekistan in the Russian tourist market. Within the framework of cooperation with ATOR, the Ministry of Tourism is an associate partner of the Association, the Academy of Uzbekistan has been organized by creating a special landing page, training and certification of Russian travel companies, "said Ulugbek Azamov, First Deputy Minister of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Deputy khokims of Bukhara and Samarkand regions Botir Shakhriyorov and Botir Nurullayev presented the potential of pilgrimage tourism on the example of Bukhara region and the development of tourist infrastructure in Samarkand region. Gulchekhra Israilova, Chairperson of the Association of Private Travel Organizations of Uzbekistan, spoke about new opportunities for cooperation between Uzbek and Russian travel companies.

The Russian side informed colleagues from Uzbekistan about programs for the development of the tourism sector in Russia, the transformation of the tourism industry during a pandemic, the development of industrial, resort and medical tourism in the regions.

Elena Krivenkova, head of the Business Russia Development Committee, President of VL TRAVEL, emphasized that Russia knows about the tourism opportunities of Uzbekistan and Russian travelers are happy to visit our country. E. Krivenkova expressed hope for an early increase in the mutual tourist flow between Russia and Uzbekistan.

The head of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, Maya Lomidze, spoke about the need to further promote the tourism potential of Uzbekistan and develop detailed marketing steps, as well as regular contacts between the tourism business of the two countries in the B2B format.

Representatives of the Russian delegation expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Uzbekistan for their contribution to the development of relations between Russia and Uzbekistan in the field of tourism, as well as for the support during travel and filming by Russian media in Uzbekistan, which contributes to the popularization of Uzbekistan in Russia and a deeper disclosure of history. culture and traditions of the Uzbek people.

During the event, it was noted that Uzbekistan and Russia have a huge untapped potential in the field of tourism, the parties need to cooperate more actively and on a large scale.

Following the results of the forum, the parties agreed to develop a set of measures to expand cooperation in the field of tourism, increase tourist flow, resume and expand.