Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Today, on 26 April, a business forum was held in Tashkent with the participation of representatives of the tourism sector of the People’s Republic of China. This forum was dedicated to promoting the tourism potential of Uzbekistan in China and strengthening business ties between representatives of the Uzbek-Chinese tourism industry.

The business forum was organized on the initiative of the Uzbek company Prestige Travel and the Chinese company Hainan Weidu international travel CO LTD in collaboration with the Tourism Committee. It was attended by representatives of the public and private sectors of Uzbekistan and China, including government representatives, business leaders and investors, as well as executives of leading hotel brands and tourism companies of the two countries.

“Last year, about 45 thousand tourists from the People’s Republic of China came to Uzbekistan, and this year this figure is expected to increase several times. Bilateral relations between Uzbekistan and China in the field of tourism play a special role in this. I must note that the number of people coming from China to experience the historical sites, rich cultural heritage and beautiful nature of your country is increasing. This is beneficial for the two-way exchange of tourists,” said He Jin, head of Hainan Weidu international travel CO LTD.

“We are working on new projects to develop affordable tour packages and organize quality holidays for tourists, as well as a sharp increase in the number of visitors from China to Uzbekistan. Last year, the Prestige Travel organized trips to China for about 10 thousand Uzbek citizens. In addition, we brought thousands of Chinese tourists to our country. I emphasize once again: the work being done is important to ensure that citizens of the countries have quality rest. Our company operates on the basis of sufficient experience in this regard. For the first time in Uzbekistan, we launched direct flights to Egypt, Vietnam, Montenegro and a number of European countries, opening them for travel,” said Oybek Akhmedov, founder of the company.

During the forum, the issue of opening direct flights from Uzbekistan to the Chinese province of Hainan was discussed. The parties stated that starting from June this year they plan to increase the number of flights to one per week, and then increase them to 3 per week.

During the event, meetings between representatives of Uzbekistan and China took place in B2B format, where participants discussed the current state of the tourism industry and explored new opportunities for cooperation between Uzbekistan and China. The forum ended with the signing of a number of agreements and memorandums of understanding between Uzbek and Chinese travel companies.

The Uzbek-Chinese tourism business forum has become an important step in the development of business relations between representatives of the two countries. The forum gave participants a platform to explore new opportunities for collaboration and investment. This event will serve the rise and development of the tourism industry of Uzbekistan, strengthening the country’s position in the global tourism market.

“For the development of our country’s tourism industry, it is important to promote tourism potential abroad, increase the number of international flights and attract the attention of foreign travelers in an original way. Therefore, a two-way open dialogue like today is the basis for us to introduce a number of innovations. We appreciate that the number of people who come to Uzbekistan to explore the tourism opportunities of our country is increasing,” said Oybek Akhmedov.

The number of foreign tourists visiting Uzbekistan is expected to exceed 10 million this year. In order to familiarize the world with the tourism potential of Uzbekistan and increase the number of tourists coming from East Asian countries, conditions are being created for the rapid development of tourism in our country and high growth rates of the industry. Today, there are about 6,000 accommodation facilities in our country, where more than 145,000 tourists can live.

Prestige Travel, which took the initiative to organize this event, was founded in 2018 and is still taking important initiatives to launch flights to new destinations for Uzbekistan.

In particular, in 2018, Prestige Travel for the first time launched direct flights from Tashkent to Egyptian Sharm el-Sheikh. Also in May 2021, a direct flight to Hurghada, one of the largest tourist centers in Egypt, was opened, and this year a new route to the Vietnamese island of Phu Quoc was developed. In addition, in the summer of 2022, a direct flight to Nha Trang, one of the resort cities of Vietnam, was opened.

Since June 2023, Prestige Travel has opened regular direct flights between Montenegro and the city of Nha Trang (Vietnam).