TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, February 27. Uzbekistan and Türkiye have signed a memorandum of cooperation and an action plan to enhance bilateral tourism ties, Trend reports.
The agreements were formalized in Ankara by Aziz Abdukhakimov, Uzbekistan’s Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection, and Climate Change, and Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Türkiye’s Minister of Culture and Tourism.
The meeting underscored the importance of further enhancing bilateral tourism cooperation. Abdukhakimov underscored the importance of broadening flight paths and linking Uzbekistan’s tourist gems with key Turkish cities like Izmir, Muğla, Fethiye, Alanya, Adana, and Bursa. He also proposed the Million+Million initiative, aimed at attracting at least one million tourists to each country.
Mehmet Nuri Ersoy fully supported these initiatives, emphasizing Uzbekistan’s growing significance as a key global tourist destination, with its rich historical cities such as Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva, as well as its cuisine, crafts, and hospitality.
The growing bond between these nations has certainly put a feather in the cap of the tourism sector, as the influx of Uzbek visitors to Türkiye has soared from 170,636 in 2021 to a whopping 229,968 in 2024. This growth is also reflected in air connectivity, with 106 flights now taking to the skies weekly between the two countries, a leap from 62 in 2023, 20 in 2022, and just 10 in 2021.
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