Flight Centre offers new tour packages to Dubai, highlighting its transformation and renewed tourist appeal

The tourist flow to Uzbekistan has significantly increased since the beginning of the year: during the period from January to July, the country welcomed over 7.749 million foreign citizens. This figure exceeds the numbers for the same period in 2025 by 1.4 million people, which represents a growth of 22.6%.

According to information from the National Committee on Statistics, the majority of visitors arrived from neighboring countries. Kyrgyzstan topped the list of donor countries, gathering 2.18 million guests over seven months. Kazakhstan took second place with 1.86 million tourists, and Tajikistan was third, registering 1.73 million visits.

Russia also became one of the key destinations for foreign tourists, with 710.8 thousand Russians arriving in the country. Among other visiting countries, there were arrivals of 281.2 thousand tourists from Afghanistan, 269.7 thousand from China, 192.8 thousand from Turkmenistan, and 111.9 thousand from Turkey. The top ten leaders are rounded out by India with 32.5 thousand and the Republic of Korea with 26.5 thousand tourists.

Furthermore, Uzbekistan decided to update the concept of national souvenirs to make them more modern, convenient, and attractive to visitors. To achieve this goal, the Uzbek Gift Contest started, which is designed to encourage designers and artisans to create new products that combine traditional crafts with current ideas.

If you are tired of monotonous dishes like dal, vegetables, and rice for lunch or dinner, try something new. In Uttar Pradesh, rice in the form of tahri is very popular, although some mistakenly mistake yellow rice for tahri. This article presents an Awadhi-style tahri recipe that is not only very tasty but also easy to prepare.

This dish, made from rice, seasonal vegetables, and aromatic spices, is filling while being extremely appetizing. The true taste of Awadhi tahri is achieved by using whole spices, and its aroma is capable of stimulating the appetite. You can add vegetables such as potatoes, peas, and carrots to it; it can be taken in a lunch box or served hot at home with yogurt and pickled cucumbers.

Step-by-Step Cooking Process

First, the basmati rice should be thoroughly washed in water two or three times, and then soaked for about 15-20 minutes. While the rice is soaking, cut the potatoes and carrots into small pieces, and prepare the other vegetables.

In a multi-cooker or a thick-bottomed pot, heat oil or ghee. Add cumin seeds, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, and cardamom, and fry for a few seconds. When the spices begin to release their aroma, add the finely chopped onion and fry until light golden brown.

Next, add the ginger and garlic paste, as well as green chili, and sauté for some time. Then add the chopped potatoes, carrots, and green peas. After lightly frying the vegetables, add turmeric, red pepper powder, coriander powder, and salt, cooking the vegetables with spices for another 2-3 minutes.

Drain the water from the soaked rice and add it to the pot along with the vegetables and spices, stirring gently. Add about 2 cups of water and close the multi-cooker lid. Cook the tahri until two whistles appear (if using a multi-cooker), then turn off the gas and allow the pressure to release naturally. If cooking in a pot, cover with a lid and simmer on low heat until the rice is fully cooked.

After opening the multi-cooker, stir in garam masala and finely chopped fresh cilantro into the tahri. It is important to stir the rice very carefully so that it does not break apart.

Serving with Yogurt and Pickled Cucumbers

The hot Awadhi tahri should be placed on a plate and served with cold yogurt, raita with boondi, green chutney, or Amban pickle. This tahri, made from vegetables and spices, is a complete and satisfying meal on its own. Its flavor can be doubled by adding stuffed red peppers to it.

In the first half of 2026, 1,507 attractions were inspected across the republic, resulting in 43 facilities being taken out of operation, and another 102 being temporarily disconnected from the power grid.

This was reported at a press conference dedicated to the results of the Industrial, Radiation, and Nuclear Safety Committee's activities for the first half of 2026. The event presented information on the work done to ensure industrial, radiation, and nuclear safety, prevent accidents at hazardous facilities, and digitize the control system.

During the first six months of the year, the Committee conducted 914 inspections, during which 8,055 violations of safety requirements were identified. 908 written directives were issued to eliminate the detected deficiencies. Additionally, 6,634 preventive measures were carried out during the reporting period.

Sardorbek Yakubekov, Deputy Chairman of the Industrial, Radiation, and Nuclear Safety Committee, spoke about the measures being taken to enhance the safety of elevators and attractions. He noted that over the past six months, 2,755 elevators underwent state registration through the unified electronic platform 'Safe Elevator'. Currently, the total number of elevators included in this platform has reached 17,517, and there are 78 companies providing technical maintenance.

Olimjon Joʻraev, Head of the Tashkent City Administration, provided information on the results of compliance checks of the republic's attractions with safety requirements. He stated that the Committee examined 1,507 attractions throughout the republic. As a result of special inspections, appropriate measures were taken against facilities that did not meet safety requirements, including taking 43 attractions out of operation and temporarily disconnecting 102 of them from the power supply.

As part of this event, a unified electronic database was formed for nearly 60 thousand facilities under the Committee's control through the 'Unified Integrated Ecosystem' information system. During the reporting period, 6,918 expert conclusions were recorded through this system.

In the field of public services, 1,487 permits and 544 conclusions were presented for the past period of 2026. It is planned to complete the work on approving 10 Government decrees and 37 departmental documents by the end of the year, as well as adopt 4 draft laws. It is also planned to adapt more than 70 technical documents to international standards and implement an artificial intelligence-based 'virtual assistant' in this information system.