Outbound tourism from Uzbekistan rises 4.8% in early 2026

Uzbekistan’s outbound tourism grew by 4.8% in the first two months of 2026, even as traditional favorites like the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt saw a decline in popularity. According to the National Statistics Committee, 1.081 million citizens traveled abroad for tourism purposes during January-February.

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While the overall number of trips increased by 49.3 thousand compared to the same period in 2025, the growth rate has slowed significantly. For comparison, the growth recorded in the first two months of 2025 relative to 2024 stood at 21.4%.

Neighboring countries remain the primary choice for Uzbek travelers. Kyrgyzstan maintained its position as the most visited destination with 426.4 thousand trips, reflecting a slight increase of 0.9% year-on-year. Tajikistan secured second place despite a 7.2% decrease in visitors, totaling 179.3 thousand, while Kazakhstan ranked third with 166 thousand trips, marking a 7.3% increase from the previous year.

Saudi Arabia saw a remarkable 42% surge in travelers from Uzbekistan, reaching 115,350 visits in the first two months. Russia also experienced significant growth, with over 62 thousand citizens visiting compared to 48 thousand last year – a 29.2% increase.

Notably, China entered the top ten destinations for the first time, recording 8,890 trips. Other destinations showing modest growth included Turkey, which saw 34.6 thousand visitors (up 5%), and Thailand, which experienced a slight rise of 1.3% to 10.9 thousand arrivals.

In contrast, interest in the UAE and Egypt weakened even before the recent escalation of the Middle East crisis. The number of Uzbekistani tourists visiting the UAE fell by more than 16% to 26.4 thousand. Egypt saw an even sharper decline of 20%, with 8,872 travelers compared to 11 thousand during the same period last year.

Impact of Middle East tensions

Data from the booking service Aviasales Uzbekistan suggests that the downturn for regional travel has accelerated since late February due to heightened tensions in the Middle East. Since the end of last month, consumer interest in traveling to the UAE has plummeted fourfold, while demand for trips to Saudi Arabia has dropped by a factor of three.