Uzbekistan witnessed a surge in foreign visitors during the year 2023, with a total of 6.6mn foreign citizens exploring the country, marking a notable increase of 26.9% compared to the previous year, the Statistics Agency reports.
The boost in tourism figures is particularly noteworthy, considering the substantial growth observed in 2022 when the tourist flow surged by 2.8 times, bringing in an additional 3.4mn people.
Breaking down the purpose of visits, approximately 5.6mn individuals traveled to the Republic of Uzbekistan to visit relatives, while over 773,000 opted for vacation purposes. The data also revealed that 70,000 foreigners visited Uzbekistan for commercial reasons, while 143,000 arrived for business purposes.
Shifting the focus to neighboring Kazakhstan, the country has experienced a parallel surge in foreign tourist numbers. As per the Kazakh Bureau of National Statistics, from January to September 2023, Kazakhstan welcomed a notable 834,900 foreign tourists, reflecting a remarkable 37% increase compared to the same period the previous year. In 2022, the country attracted 609,800 tourists, as reported by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports on January 9.
Deputy Minister of Tourism and Sports, Yerzhan Yerkinbayev, expressed optimism about the ongoing trend, stating, “We observe a growing interest in Kazakhstan among foreign tourists each year, and we hope that this year’s figures will surpass last year’s mark. Our country has numerous breathtaking places that captivate foreigners with the beauty of its nature.”
Earlier, it was reported that In Kyrgyzstan, the tourism sector experienced a 72.46% decline in 2020 due to the global pandemic, with the total number of tourists dropping to 195,000. However, the country has been making steady progress in its recovery, with the number of tourists increasing by 29.2% in the first half of 2023.
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