Uzbekistan intends to establish an international tourist city in the city of Khiva, as well as a center for conferences and an historical and ethnographic park. Furthermore, the ancient Ichan Kala complex will be transformed into a 'smart' museum complex using digital technologies.
These plans were announced by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in his message dedicated to Tourism Day, which is celebrated on September 27. According to the President, the new facilities in Khiva should harmoniously combine history and modernity.
These projects are part of Uzbekistan's broader efforts to transform the country into one of the world's most popular tourist destinations by developing modern infrastructure for travelers. Khiva has become the first region included in the list of places where new tourist facilities are planned to be built.
In addition to Khiva, a Silk Road Museum will be built in Samarkand, new routes to archaeological sites in Karakalpakstan will open, the Gilon complex in the Shahrisabz district of Kashkadarya region will be developed, and the Arashan complex will be created in Namangan region.
The planned digital transformation of Ichan Kala aligns with the priorities set by the President for the entire tourism sector. These priorities include the wide implementation of modern technologies, the launch of a unified national tourism platform, integration into a single system of tourism services, the use of artificial intelligence, and regular professional development of industry workers.
Special attention will be paid to accelerating the development of high value-added tourism segments. Such segments include gastronomic, ecological, pilgrimage, medical, mountain, adventure, business, ethnic, and rural tourism.
The new initiatives are tied to the goals set for 2030. By this date, Uzbekistan aims to increase the number of foreign tourists to 20 million annually, raise the share of tourism in GDP to 7%, increase the export of tourism services to more than 8 billion US dollars, and double the number of high-class hotels.
According to the data provided in the congratulatory message, nearly 12 million foreign tourists visited Uzbekistan in 2025, which is six times higher than the figure in 2016. The export of tourism services increased elevenfold, reaching 4.8 billion US dollars.