Uzbekistan surpasses 9 million visitors in the first eight months of 2026

Uzbekistan has reached another tourism milestone: 9.1 million foreign visitors arrived between January and August 2026, up 21.1% on the same eight months of 2025, according to data published by the Tourism Committee of Uzbekistan. That total includes 1.4 million arrivals in August alone — the strongest single month on record.

The revenue picture is equally striking. Exports of tourism services reached $4.6 billion over the eight-month period — a 53.5% increase on the corresponding period in 2025 — reflecting both the higher volume of travellers and a clear rise in how long visitors stay and how much they spend.

Growth is arriving from every direction. The sharpest year-on-year increases came from China (arrivals up 2.3-fold), Malaysia (2-fold), Japan (1.5-fold), the United States (1.4-fold) and Russia (1.3-fold). Traditional near-neighbour markets — Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan — continue to lead in absolute numbers, underscoring the breadth of Uzbekistan’s appeal across both regional and distant audiences.

If the current pace holds through the autumn season, total arrivals for 2026 are on course to exceed the 11–12 million mark for the first time in the country’s history — a figure that would have seemed ambitious just a few years ago.