Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 5
By Nigar Guliyeva – Trend:
A single 30-day tourist visa has been introduced in Uzbekistan, and its cost has been reduced by 30 percent, the State Tourism Committee of Uzbekistan said in a message on Dec.5.
Earlier the tourist visa was issued for seven or 15 days.
"Receiving a tourist visa for a short period, in case of delayed return flight from the country for any reason, foreign citizens faced the problem of extending the validity of visas," the ministry said.
These changes are stipulated by the relevant decree of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev adopted on Dec.4. In accordance with the document, the cost of visa was decreased from $60 to $40 for individual foreign tourists is reduced.
The resolution provides for a halving of the lower threshold (from ten to five people) for the registration of a group tourist visa.
"Until recently, the requirements for the presence of at least ten tourists for registration of a group tourist visa caused difficulties, since in most cases, groups are formed from close relatives or relatives, usually consisting of five people or more," the State Committee explained.
The president in early December 2016 signed a decree providing for the abolition of visas for tourists from 27 countries of the world who enter Uzbekistan for a period of not more than 30 days. However, a month later the head of state postponed the period for the abolition of visas to Jan.1, 2021.
The number of visas issued to foreign tourists to visit Uzbekistan in the first half of 2017 increased by 12 percent compared to the same period in 2016, to 51,179.
Currently, Uzbekistan is carrying out a large-scale campaign to attract foreign tourists. In October, Uzbekistan reduced the time for issuing visas for tourists from Turkey to three working days. Turkish citizens were allowed to get 30-day visas without presentation of tourist vouchers and invitations from Uzbek organizations.
Earlier, the same simplified procedure was introduced for citizens of Austria, Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, Spain, Italy, Latvia, Malaysia, France, Switzerland and Japan. From January 1, 2018, Poland will be included in this list.