Uzbekistan is experiencing a tourism boom

The number of foreign visitors to Uzbekistan has risen sharply in recent years. According to the National Statistics Committee, a total of 11.68 million people from abroad traveled to the Central Asian country in 2025—an increase of 3.72 million, or 47 percent, compared to the previous year.

As recently as 2021, Uzbekistan had recorded only 1.88 million foreign visitors. A rapid increase followed: 5.23 million trips were registered in 2022, 6.63 million in 2023, and around 7.96 million in 2024.

Family visits dominate

Visits to relatives accounted for the largest share in 2025. Around 7.86 million trips—more than two-thirds of all entries—were for this purpose.

Traditional tourism also played a growing role: 1.92 million visitors came for leisure and recreation. Business trips totaled 1.32 million.

Other trips were related to trade (446,800), medical treatment (86,200), or education (39,700).

Visitors Primarily from Neighboring Countries

Most visitors came from neighboring Central Asian countries. Kyrgyzstan ranked first with 3.32 million trips. It was followed by Tajikistan with 2.70 million and Kazakhstan with 2.67 million visits.

Russia also remained an important source market with 984,400 trips. Other visitors came from Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, and China, among others.

Comparatively smaller groups arrived from Europe and North America. These included visitors from Italy, Germany, the U.S., France, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

Parallel to the rise in tourism, travel by the Uzbek population also increased. In 2025, citizens of the country undertook approximately 7.56 million trips abroad—an increase of more than one-fifth compared to the previous year.

As with inbound travel, family visits were the primary reason for these trips. Around 5.89 million trips were made to visit relatives. Leisure travel accounted for about one-fifth of all trips abroad.

The most popular destinations were also in the region: Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan topped the list. They were followed by Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.

Other destinations included the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, China, and South Korea.

The government in Tashkent aims to further expand the tourism sector. By 2026, Uzbekistan aims to attract up to twelve million foreign visitors.