Uzbekistan, positioned as the Heart of the Silk Road, stands among the globe’s rapidly burgeoning tourist hotspots. This Central Asian gem has captivated fresh audiences and garnered recognition from influential travel authorities such as Lonely Planet, who has chosen Uzbekistan as a winner of Best in Travel 2024, and it is also included in Conde Nast Traveller’s Best Places to Go in Asia in 2024. Delve into a few compelling reasons why Uzbekistan deserves a prime spot on your travel itinerary for the upcoming year.
EVENTS
- The Organization of Islamic Cooperation has chosen Khiva, Uzbekistan as the 2024 Tourism Capital of the Islamic World. The UNESCO World Heritage Site will host a special programme of events throughout the year, including the Khiva Strongmen Games on 1-2 June and the Lazgi Festival of traditional Khorezmian dance in September (dates TBC).
- Tashkent Jazz Festival will take place over a two-week period in early May. American saxophonist Kenny Garrett is headlining and will perform on 7 May at the Palace of International Forums.
- Tashkent International Animation Forum (TIAF), the first animation festival in Central Asia, is happening from 3-10 May. The theme of the forum is “movement”, and it’ll include film screenings, animation workshops, and talks, plus dance and theatrical performances.
- In June, Chimgan ECHO will return to Tashkent Region. The event began as a song contest more than four decades ago but has expanded into a festival of culture and ecology, educating attendees about the natural landscape and the importance of environmental protection.
- Triathletes from around the world will gather in Samarkand on 7-8 September. It is the first triathlon of the Challenger World Series in Central Asia and includes various distance events.
FLIGHTS
- LOT Polish Airlines has announced that it will fly from Warsaw to Tashkent from February 2024. Return tickets from London to Tashkent via Warsaw in March 2024 (hand baggage only) are being advertised from £305 return.
- WIZZ Air has confirmed that it will launch flights from Budapest to Tashkent in 2024. The dates are TBC but it is likely to be for the summer flight schedule. A flight from Budapest to Samakrand is also under consideration. These new routes are in addition to WIZZ Abu Dhabi’s existing flights from Abu Dhabi to Tashkent and Samarkand.
- New airline Air Samarkand launched in November 2023 with a fleet of Airbus aircraft. It will connect cities in Europe and Asia directly to Samarkand, Uzbekistan’s second city.
- Humo Air, a new low-cost airline based in Uzbekistan, will receive its first aircraft in December 2023. Its hub will be Tashkent.
HOTEL OPENINGS
- Hilton is taking over management of three hotels at the Silk Road Samarkand complex in Samarkand. Hilton Samarkand Regency, Hilton Garden Inn Samarkand Afrosiyob, and Hilton Garden Inn Samarkand Sogd will start operating under the Hilton brand in winter 2023/24.
- Swissôtel Charvak will open in Navobod village, a short drive from Tashkent and the scenic Charvak Reservoir, a year-round resort in the Western Tien Shan UNESCO World Heritage Site. The hotel will have 206 rooms and suites, a spa complex, restaurants, and three swimming pools.
- A yet-to-be-named 5* hotel is under construction in Bukhara, scheduled to open in September 2024. The hotel has 301 rooms (including a presidential suite), swimming pool and sauna, restaurants and meeting spaces. It is within easy reach of Bukhara’s Old City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Accor Group is taking over management of the International Hotel in Tashkent and will rebrand the hotel as the 5* Mövenpick Hotel Tashkent. Opening under the new brand is expected early in 2024. The 174-room hotel is located on Amir Temur Ave, close to Tashkent TV Tower and the Expocentre.
