The Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Malaysia organized a round table on “New prospects of expansion of Uzbekistan – Malaysia cooperation in tourism industry”. The event was attended by the heads of the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) and the leading travel agencies of the country. 

At the meeting, the participants became acquainted with the historical and cultural heritage of Uzbekistan. 

The Malaysian tour operators underlined the scale of reforms in tourism industry of Uzbekistan, which are reflected in the abolition of the visa regime for Malaysian citizens, improvement of the banking system, introduction of new terminal of the International Airport in Tashkent city for arriving passengers with broad infrastructure capabilities at the crossing of border and customs services, including the green corridor, and others.

Attention was attracted by pilot projects implemented this year on the route Kuala Lumpur – Tashkent – Tel Aviv with a 2-day stay in Uzbekistan for pilgrims going to Al-Aqsa Mosque (Palestine), as well as in the direction of Kuala Lumpur – Tashkent – Moscow – St. Petersburg – Bukhara with a 3-day stay in Uzbekistan. In this context, it was noted that there are many opportunities with the planned opening of direct flights between Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia that will allow the development of an Umrah Plus tour package along Kuala Lumpur – Tashkent – Jeddah route for Malaysian pilgrims with a 5-day stay in Uzbekistan. 

As reported by the Press Service of the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Tourism Development, the Malaysian side shared its best practices on attracting foreign tourists to the country. 

It is recommended to solve the issue of excessive congestion of the existing tourism infrastructure of the country in the high season, as well as improve the transport system by creating more comfortable conditions for travel of foreign tourists through the territory of Uzbekistan, actively introduce electronic platforms for on-line payment for hotel, intercity transportation and other services by means of mobile on-line services. 

Following the event, representatives of Malaysian travel agencies expressed their readiness to take an active part in the upcoming Tashkent International Tourism Fair “Tourism on the Silk Road”, scheduled for October 3-5.