The 25th General Assembly of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) will be held in 2023 in Samarkand. This was stated by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan – Minister of Tourism and Cultural Heritage Aziz Abdukhakimov.

Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary General of the UNWTO, arrived in Samarkand to get acquainted with the preparatory work.

The distinguished guest, accompanied by the Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Tourism and Cultural Heritage Aziz Abdukhakimov, visited the historical sights of Samarkand, craftsmen’s workshops, the new tourist center “Samarkand Touristic Center”, covering an area of ​​212 hectares on the banks of the rowing canal with a congress hall, hotels, restaurants and other objects of tourist infrastructure.

“The tourism potential of Uzbekistan is growing from year to year,” said Zurab Pololikashvili. It is not for nothing that Samarkand was chosen among the cities that took the initiative to hold the next session of the World Tourism Organization. This ancient city, which has been at the crossroads of cultures since ancient times, makes a worthy contribution to strengthening international relations. In the course of acquaintance with Samarkand, we are convinced that we were not mistaken in choosing it. I am sure that the UNWTO session, which will be held in Samarkand next year, will be successful and eventful in all respects.”

Recall that according to the results of voting at the 24th session of the UNWTO, which was held in Madrid, Uzbekistan (Samarkand) won the honor of becoming the world tourism capital in 2023 from another contender – Portugal.

It should be noted that the UNWTO General Assembly is the most important biennial tourism forum. It would not be an exaggeration to say that holding such a high-level event of the UN family of organizations in Uzbekistan will be the first historic event.