Russian tourists made more than 3.75 million trips to Central Asian countries in 2024, with the number of travelers from Russia to the region continuing to grow, Russian Deputy Minister of Economic Development Murat Kerefov announced at the first Central Asian International Economic Forum in Dushanbe.
“An increasing number of Russians are choosing Central Asian countries for vacations. Last year alone, over 3.75 million trips were made from Russia to the region, with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan seeing the highest growth in Russian tourist numbers,” Kerefov stated.
The deputy minister emphasized the importance of boosting tourist flows between Russia and Central Asia. “We're working to improve legislation, including reducing financial burdens on tour operators offering packages to friendly countries. We're also integrating Central Asian tourism businesses into our digital booking systems and participating in joint major tourism events,” he explained.
Kerefov noted that Russia is also taking steps to attract more foreign tourists, including launching the Discover Russia program to promote regional tourism potential and developing Muslim Friendly and Halal hotel certification systems. “We've already assembled a significant pool of joint tourism investment projects totaling about $14 billion,” he added.
The announcement follows earlier remarks by Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov about major transformations in CIS tourism. He highlighted the high comfort and safety standards for tourists in CIS countries, their hospitality toward Russians, and the shared linguistic environment uniting residents of Russia and other CIS states.
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Based on TASS materials