Riding on last year’s robust tourism growth, Uzbekistan Tourism is charting out an ambitious tourism development plan driven by emerging tourism source markets like India. As part of this initiative, Uzbekistan Tourism Minister Umid Shadiev was recently in India to drive crucial collaboration between tourism stakeholders of Uzbekistan and India.
Shadiev was in New Delhi leading a delegation of prominent Uzbek tourism stakeholders to attend the 32nd edition of South Asia’s biggest tourism fair SATTE as the event’s Guest of Honour. “We want to take our tourism partnership with India to the next level and this visit and our participation at SATTE 2025 forms the bedrock of this commitment,” said Shadiev.
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Uzbekistan has witnessed a robust three-fold growth in foreign tourist arrivals into the country in the last seven years with numbers growing from a mere 2.7 million in 2017 to 8.2 million in 2024. Importantly, the Tourism Minister pointed that the sector’s contribution meanwhile to the country’s GDP has grown over 500% during the period. As part of its ‘Uzbekistan – 2030’ vision strategy, the country is keen to develop tourism, boost investment, create jobs, in order to deliver on the young nation’s growth and development aspirations.
Addressing the Indian and international trade buyers and tourism stakeholders at SATTE’s inaugural function, the Hon. Minister said, “India has huge potential as a source market for Uzbekistan. But, it is not simply a numbers game — it is cultural relevance and shared values which make this such an attractive market for us. My target is to treble the number of Indian visitors to Uzbekistan by 2030.” Shadiev further said that Uzbekistanis love children and like Indians, frequently travel in extended family groups, so its hotels and tourist attractions are well equipped to serve guests of all ages and segments.
Indian passport holders are eligible for an e-visa. He also hoped that “in near future India is added to the list of countries which can visit Uzbekistan visa-free. And with the right support from airlines, the sky’s the limit! There is a huge, unmet demand for flights, so the Tourism Committee is actively encouraging new airlines to enter the Uzbekistan market. And I see tremendous scope to develop multiple new routes between our two countries.”
The Minister also highlighted the historical links between Uzbekistan and India that date back millennia. “We all know about the Silk Road, about Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and Amir Timur. I should also mention Emperor Babur, who was born and raised in Uzbekistan’s Fergana Valley but made his name in India as the founder of the Mughal Dynasty. When I see your grand monuments like Humayun’s Tomb, I feel quite at home, as there was such continuity in the architectural style,” he added.
Besides highlighting Uzbekistan’s rich cultural heritage, the Minister also availed of the opportunity to highlight Uzbekistan’s thriving winter sports sector, with large modern ski resorts which are much more affordable than those in Europe, stunning UNESCO sites and landscapes offering fabulous backdrops for honeymoon photo shoots or film shootings, pristine and very large national parks, great outdoors, and unlimited adventure.
“We are confident that these products will appeal to multiple segments of the Indian outbound tourism market. Add in the short flight time and the cleanliness and safety of Uzbekistan, it’s an ideal option for Indian couples, families, and groups of friends,” Shadiev added.
