SEOUL, October 14. /Dunyo IA/.   South Korea’s leading publication “The Korea Post” has published an article on the growth of Uzbekistan’s tourism industry and initiatives to develop tourism across Central Asia, reports Dunyo IA correspondent.

Article cites figures showing that Uzbekistan welcomed 9.1 million foreign tourists from January to August 2026, a 21.1% increase compared with the same period last year. Cooperation with CIS countries is highlighted as an important contributing factor: tourist arrivals from Russia rose by 30.8%, reaching nearly 868,000, while arrivals from Azerbaijan increased by 63.3% to 22,000. The publication also refers to B2B meetings held at the MITT-2026 tourism and hospitality exhibition in Moscow, the launch of the Kazan–Tashkent air route, and the “Highlights of the Silk Road” European roadshow organised by Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan in 2025, covering Frankfurt, Vienna, Zurich, Budapest, Prague and Barcelona.

Article also highlights cooperation with neighbouring countries. It notes that Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have prepared a draft tourism cooperation programme for 2026–2027. Meanwhile, a simplified border-crossing mechanism between Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan is gradually making travel across several countries more convenient.

Publication concludes by highlighting President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s initiative to establish a “Central Asian Tourism Ring”, put forward at the 59th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank in Samarkand. It notes that pilgrimage, cultural, gastronomic and other forms of tourism across the region can complement one another, enabling Central Asia to be promoted as a unified destination for travellers from around the world.