Uzbekistan citizens made 167,337 tourist trips to Saudi Arabia in January–July 2026, up 15,600 or 10.3% from the same period last year, according to the National Statistics Committee.
The number of trips has increased significantly over the past four years, despite a decline in 2023. In January–July 2022, around 50,000 Uzbekistan citizens traveled to Saudi Arabia for tourism.
The figure fell to 35,200 in January–July 2023 before rising to 106,500 in 2024 and 151,700 in 2025. It reached 167,337 in the first seven months of 2026. Compared with January–July 2022, the number of tourist trips to Saudi Arabia has increased by roughly 3.3 times.
Saudi Arabia ranked fifth among the most visited foreign destinations by Uzbekistan citizens in January–July 2026, behind Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Russia. Turkiye ranked sixth with 166,893 trips.
Earlier, outbound tourism from Uzbekistan was reported to be growing. More than 2.2mn Uzbekistan citizens traveled abroad for tourism in January–April 2026, up by nearly 83,700 from the same period in 2025. Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan were the most visited destinations, while Saudi Arabia ranked fourth with 138,113 trips.
The increase in travel to Saudi Arabia comes alongside expanding economic ties between the two countries. Uzbekistan–Saudi Arabia trade reached $178mn in 2025, up 24% year-on-year, while utilized Saudi investments in Uzbekistan totaled $2.8bn, increasing 105%. A total of 433 enterprises with Saudi capital participation currently operate in Uzbekistan.
