From May 1, Uzbekistan will issue short-term visas for foreign tourists. It will operate for 72 hours, to receive this type of visa it is necessary to provide a ticket to a third country and pay a consular fee. In addition, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan jointly implement the tourist project “Astana – Shymkent – Silk Road”, writes 24.kz 

Since February, Uzbekistan has canceled the visa regime for seven countries: Israel, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Turkey and Japan. Now citizens of these countries have an opportunity to see the beauty of Uzbekistan and within a month stay in the country without a visa. Thus, the authorities hope to increase the flow of tourists.

In addition, with nine countries, including Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia, the visa-free regime has been extended to 60 days. This all shows Uzbekistan’s willingness to accept foreign investors in all spheres of activity. In particular, our neighbors are interested in businessmen from Kazakhstan.

Uzbekistan intends to make the tourism industry the driving force of the country’s economy. For this, among other things, options for the effective use of border buffer zones are considered.

Aziz Abdukhakimov, Chairman of the State Committee of Tourism Development of the Republic of Uzbekistan: “Even if the buses stop for 10 minutes, we should turn the border areas into a flourishing place, sell souvenirs, food, and open restaurants. It is in the interest of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, to encourage people crossing our borders, primarily foreigners, leave their money”.

In Uzbekistan, there are more than 7,300 cultural and historical sites. Ancient sights have been preserved primarily in Tashkent, Bukhara, Samarkand, Khiva and Sharisabz. A program for the improvement of these regions has been developed, there is the work carried to improve the capacity of tourism organizations and bring hotels to international standards.

Yulduz Rakhmanova, manager of the travel company: “What does the visa-free regime give us? The fact, that you can combine Uzbekistan with another country. Arriving for 72 hours in Tashkent, you can have time to go to Samarkand and Bukhara, see our sights, historical monuments there”.

Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are working together today to create a tourist route “Astana – Shymkent – Zhibek Zholy”. The route will include the southern capital of Kazakhstan – Almaty. Within the framework of this project, the authorities intend to improve air and rail communication.

Yerik Utembayev, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Uzbekistan: “Agreements have been reached with the aviation authorities of Tashkent, which will facilitate the implementation of this pilot project, this will increase the flow of Chinese tourists at the first stage. At the second stage, we want to implement this pilot project in other countries. In this regard, the infrastructure that exists in Kazakhstan at the airports of Astana and Almaty will allow tourists to visit Tashkent without interference and use the railway routes that exist in the direction of Samarkand and Bukhara and to create a new direction for the Silk Road.