Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbekistan plans to create an international tourist town, a congress centre and a historical and ethnographic park in Khiva, while transforming the ancient Ichan-Kala into a “smart” museum complex using digital technologies.
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced the plans in a message congratulating tourism industry workers on World Tourism Day, observed on 27 September.
According to the President, the new facilities in Khiva should combine history and modernity in an organic way.
The projects are part of efforts to make Uzbekistan one of the world’s most popular tourism destinations by developing modern infrastructure for travellers.
Khiva is the first region listed among the locations where new tourism facilities are planned.
In addition, a Silk Road Museum will be built in Samarkand, new routes to archaeological sites will open in Karakalpakstan, the Gilon complex will be developed in Shakhrisabz district of Kashkadarya Region, and the Arashan complex will be established in Pap district of Namangan Region.
The planned digital transformation of Ichan-Kala is in line with the priorities outlined by the President for the tourism sector as a whole.
These priorities include the widespread introduction of modern technologies, the launch of a unified national tourism platform, integration into a single tourism services system, the use of artificial intelligence and regular professional development for industry workers.
Particular attention will be given to accelerating the development of higher-value tourism segments.
These include gastronomic, ecological, pilgrimage, medical, mountain and adventure, business, ethnic and rural tourism.
The new projects are linked to the goals set for 2030. By then, Uzbekistan aims to increase the number of foreign tourists to 20 million a year, raise tourism’s share of GDP to 7%, increase tourism services exports to more than US$8 billion and double the number of high-end hotels.
According to data cited in the congratulatory message, nearly 12 million foreign tourists visited Uzbekistan in 2025. This was at least six times more than in 2016. Tourism services exports increased 11-fold to US$4.8 billion.
