Uzbek officials have hailed the success of the Uzbekistan Tourism Year in China for driving up visitor numbers to their country as the closing ceremony of the year-long campaign was held in Beijing on Monday.
More than 400 participants attended the event, with Chinese Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism Gao Zheng and Uzbekistan's Ambassador to China Farhod Arziev delivering speeches.

In their respective addresses, both highlighted the significant achievements of the Tourism Year initiative, especially since the introduction of a mutual visa-free regime that took effect in June, a move which has greatly helped facilitate travel.

At the ceremony, representatives from the Fergana and Namangan regions in the east of Uzbekistan showcased their tourism potential, aiming to attract more Chinese tourists and foster business partnerships between the two countries.

Otabek Rasulov, head of the Namangan regional tourism department, pointed to a noticeable climb in the amount of Chinese visitors coming to the eastern Uzbek region.

"The number of Chinese tourists visiting Uzbekistan has been increasing in recent years. A prime example is the International Flower Festival in the Namangan region, which has been celebrated for 65 years. This year, 250 Chinese tourists attended the festival. Throughout the year, over 1,000 Chinese tourists visited Namangan region," said Rasulov.

Data shows that the number of Chinese tourists heading to the Central Asian country increased by nearly four times over the course of the year, and many are optimistic that the legacy of the tourism year campaign will see these figures continue grow in the future.

"The Year of Tourism and related activities, along with various major exhibitions, tourism roadshows, and business meetings, has established a strong foundation for growth. The introduction of a visa-free regime has been particularly beneficial. In the first 11 months of this year, approximately 350,000 Chinese citizens visited Uzbekistan, of which 250,000 were tourists, a remarkable 3.7-fold increase. This demonstrated a very positive trend and I hope this figure will reach 400,000 or even 500,000 next year," said Feruz Dodiev, advisor to the Chairman of the Tourism Committee of Uzbekistan.

The event also featured a captivating performance by Uzbek dances and saw the joint launch of a further series of Chinese-Uzbek cultural and tourism projects for the coming year.

China has already become Uzbekistan's largest trading partner and a major source of investment, while work on the landmark China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project is expected to further boost connectivity. The two sides have also pledged to enhance exchanges in education, culture, tourism and other fields to further strengthen the deep friendship between the two peoples.