Uzbekistan plans to develop 30 new tourist areas by 2030 under comprehensive master plans, the country’s Tourism Committee said following a meeting with representatives of UK-based engineering and consulting firm Arup.
Abdulaziz Akkulov, chairman of the Tourism Committee, met with Arup director İlkay Çorgundağ to discuss promising tourism destinations and the creation of modern infrastructure across the country. The talks centred on sustainable tourism development, integrated planning for areas with high tourism potential, and the broader expansion of Uzbekistan’s tourism infrastructure.
Under the proposed master plans, transport networks, urban planning, hotel facilities, recreational areas and other essential infrastructure will be developed in a coordinated way across each of the 30 designated zones, rather than piecemeal. To support the effort, Uzbekistan established a Project Office for Tourism Infrastructure Development under the Tourism Committee in April this year, following a presidential resolution. The office is expected to help bring international expertise into the country’s tourism infrastructure projects.
The two sides also discussed Arup’s potential involvement in developing specific tourism destinations across Uzbekistan, with company representatives expressing interest in opening a representative office in Tashkent.
The initiative adds to a run of recent moves by Uzbekistan to deepen its international tourism infrastructure ties, following a wider pattern of growing economic and trade engagement across Central Asia.