More than 3 million foreign and 5.5 million domestic tourists visited Samarkand Region in the first 11 months of 2025, pushing the average length of stay from 2.5 to 3 days and lifting tourism services exports to $606 million.

Over the past year, the region added 228 hotels, hostels, and family guesthouses with a combined capacity of 3,789 beds. A tourism brand and design code for Samarkand were also developed, alongside more than 50 cultural and entertainment events and festivals. Areas with high tourism potential—Tersak and Omonqoton in Urgut District and Oqsoy neighbourhoods in Nurobod District—were granted “tourism village” status.

To promote the region internationally, tourism authorities organised outreach events in more than ten countries. Info tours were also held across the region for representatives of leading media outlets from around 20 countries and staff of major tourism companies, reaching an estimated audience of over 600 million.

The five-day New Year public holiday further boosted travel, with Samarkand’s historic sites particularly crowded with both domestic and foreign visitors. Families from across the country travelled to the city for sightseeing and pilgrimage.

“I am 76,” said Alisher Rabbanayev, a visitor from Kashkadarya Region. “In recent years, my children have taken me travelling during holiday breaks. This year, we made full use of the five-day New Year holiday and came to Samarkand with my children and grandchildren. Such trips strengthen family bonds and give working people a chance to rest, recharge, and find new inspiration.”

Under a master plan to further develop tourism, large-scale projects covering 80 hectares are set to be implemented next year in Omonqoton and Qoratepa neighbourhoods of Urgut District. These include campsites and capsule-style Eco Village complexes around the Qoratepa reservoir and nearby mountain slopes, service facilities in Omonqoton, and observation platforms and walkways in the recreational zone of the Omonqoton National Reserve.

Separately, Chorchinor neighbourhood is planned to become a tourism village. With $25 million in investment, modern dining venues, a cable car, eco-houses, yurts, a hotel, and service and retail facilities will be built, creating more than 300 jobs.

“In the region, tourism streets operating 24/7 will be established, and five neighbourhoods will be granted tourism village status,” said Jurabek Suyunov, Deputy Head of the Regional Tourism Department. “At the same time, a single tourism zone directorate will be set up, covering Urgut, Nurobod, and Samarkand districts, as well as the Kattakurgan reservoir area. Recreational facilities will also be developed by entrepreneurs along the Dargom Canal in Urgut, Toyloq, Samarkand, and Pastdargom districts.”

In addition, vacant land plots covering 25 hectares in Bulungur District are being put up for auction to develop leisure facilities. The area is expected to host ecotourism, recreational, gastronomic, and cultural-entertainment services, as well as restaurants, theme parks, and eco-village projects.

Abdulaziz Yuldoshev, Xalq So‘zi.