In the first half of 2025, tourism projects worth more than $500 million will be implemented in Uzbekistan with the participation of Chinese investors
Uzbekistan – China: Mechanisms for attracting investments in the tourism sector
In recent years, tourism cooperation between Uzbekistan and China has reached a new level, marked by both an increase in tourist flows and the establishment of a strategic investment partnership. Tourism has become one of the key bridges for deepening economic, cultural, and people-to-people ties between the two countries. In this process, mechanisms such as attracting investments, regional development, and joint creation of new tourism products are being effectively implemented.
In the first half of 2025, Uzbekistan presented its national pavilion at the largest international tourism exhibitions in China: CSITE (Chengdu), GITF (Guangzhou), and ITE Hong Kong. Over 100 tourism entities from various regions of the country showcased Uzbekistan’s rich tourism potential. For example, the GITF exhibition in Guangzhou attracted 40,000 professionals from 55 countries, while ITE Hong Kong hosted around 60,000 attendees, making these events important marketing platforms for Uzbekistan.
Additionally, roadshows took place in nine major Chinese cities, including Chongqing, Beijing, Macao, Fuzhou, Shenzhen, and others, where joint tour packages such as “Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region + Uzbekistan,” themed routes like “Silk Road Adventures,” as well as winter tourism destinations were actively promoted. These events facilitated B2B meetings with hundreds of leading Chinese travel companies, resulting in the signing of over 40 cooperation agreements.
On July 3, 2025, Samarkand hosted the international forum “Tourism on the Silk Road” (WTA Silk Road Dialogue), which brought together high-ranking representatives from the Chinese and international tourism communities. During the forum, the sides agreed to deepen investment cooperation within the framework of the “Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region + Uzbekistan” route, as well as to implement joint initiatives for promotion and investment at the provincial level. The discussions highlighted the “Arda Khiva” tourism center in the city of Khiva, along with the tangible and intangible heritage of Bukhara and Samarkand, which formed the basis for new tourism packages.
With the growing interest of Chinese tourists in Uzbekistan, the air travel infrastructure has also reached a new level. Since July 2025, three leading Chinese airlines – Air China, China Southern, and China Eastern – have started operating regular flights to Uzbekistan. For example, China Eastern launched flights on the “Xi’an – Tashkent” and “Shanghai – Tashkent” routes, while Air China operates on the “Beijing – Tashkent” route. These improvements in infrastructure create favorable conditions for both investors and tour operators.
In the first half of 2025 alone, Uzbekistan launched 16 tourism projects involving Chinese investors, with a total investment of USD 519.5 million. These investments are aimed at developing tourism infrastructure, the hotel industry, theme parks, and joint tours. Such projects enrich the tourism product while also creating jobs for the local population and supporting the diversification of the regional economy.
Today, tourism relations between Uzbekistan and China represent a broad-based cooperation that encompasses tourist flows, investments, infrastructure, and technological exchange. The expansion of exhibition geography, the holding of high-level forums, and the launch of new air routes create opportunities to attract new investments from China into Uzbekistan’s tourism sector. This, in turn, lays a solid foundation for positioning the country as both a destination for foreign tourists and an attractive opportunity for investors.
Umid Shadiev,
Chairman of the Tourism Committee
