ANKARA, September 18. /Dunyo IA/. The number of foreign tourists visiting Uzbekistan increased by 21.1 percent in the first eight months of 2026, reaching 9.1 million, reports Dunyo IA correspondent, citing with the Turkish online publication “GZT”.

At the same time, the figure includes not only travelers visiting the country for leisure purposes, but also foreigners arriving to visit relatives, on business trips and for other purposes.

The average length of stay reached eight days, while average spending per visitor rose to $503, compared with $197 in 2017, the publication notes. Studies conducted in May and June this year also showed that tourists stayed in the country for an average of around eight days.

Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva remain the most popular destinations, while tourist routes increasingly include the Fergana Valley, Kashkadarya and Surkhandarya regions, as well as Nukus and Muynak in Karakalpakstan.

In the first eight months of the year, exports of tourism services increased by 53.5 percent to $4.6 billion. At the same time, interest in Uzbekistan is growing among tourists from countries farther afield.

The number of arrivals from China increased 2.3-fold, while arrivals from Malaysia doubled and those from Japan rose 1.5-fold. The number of visitors from Germany increased by 25 percent, while arrivals from France and the United Kingdom rose by 21 percent, “GZT” notes.