Today, at the government meeting in Urgench district, chaired by Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the president called transport costs as the main obstacle to the rapid development of tourism in Khorezm province.
According to the head of state, 95% of domestic flights in Uzbekistan are operated by Uzbekistan Airways and its low-cost wing Silk Avia. The remaining 14 flights are serviced by four private airlines.
The reason is the low attractiveness of domestic routes, which is why private carriers prefer to fly abroad. Due to the lack of competition in the domestic market, for example, it is impossible to buy a ticket a week before departure for the Tashkent to Urgench flight, and the price remains high.
"Under such circumstances, not only foreign tourists, but even local travelers prefer to go overseas," the president said.
In this regard, the responsible bodies have been instructed to engage private companies and double the number of flights from Tashkent to Urgench.
The task has also been set to develop and submit a resolution on subsidizing domestic flights for all resident airlines (that is, registered in the country). In other words, the government plans to financially compensate part of the airlines' costs so that they fly more actively within the country, and tickets become more affordable for passengers.
In addition, the president instructed to add additional carriages to trains on weekends and increase passenger traffic by 1.5 times.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted that the launch of flights from Russia, Turkey, Italy, Spain and France to Urgench has yielded tangible results. However, due to the lack of direct flights, the country is losing thousands of tourists from Germany, China and the Arab countries.
Responsible persons have been instructed to make proposals to launch direct flights from Frankfurt, Urumqi, Beijing and Abu Dhabi, as well as to launch daily flights from Istanbul during the tourist season.
Urgench Airport is being transferred to a private partnership with Incheon International Airport (South Korea). It will be reconstructed taking into account the traditions of national architecture.
