Tourism potential of Uzbekistan was widely showcased at the 5th International Conference on Pilgrimage Tourism, held in Malaysia, reports Dunyo IA.

Presentation, organised by the Embassy of Uzbekistan jointly with local travel companies, attracted considerable interest from representatives of the international tourism industry.

More than 1,000 representatives of local and foreign travel companies, hotels and airlines, industry experts and media outlets took part in the four-day international event.

As part of the conference, meetings were held with the heads of leading tourism organisations in Malaysia. In particular, discussions took place with Mohammad Faisal, Director General of the Malaysia Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC); Mohd Hizzat, Vice President of the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents ("MATTA"); and Fathir Adhadad, Vice President of the Association of Umrah and Hajj Travel Operators ("PAPUX").

During the meetings, participants were briefed on large-scale tourism reforms in Uzbekistan, as well as measures to develop pilgrimage tourism and create favourable conditions for pilgrims.

Participants in the “WITC Mart” pilgrimage tourism fair learned about several Islamic heritage sites in Bukhara, Samarkand and Khorezm Regions, as well as in Tashkent. Particular emphasis was placed on the fact that, following the simplification of the visa regime in recent years, citizens of more than 90 foreign countries, including Malaysia, can enter Uzbekistan visa-free.

It was noted that direct flights between Tashkent and Kuala Lumpur operated by Uzbekistan Airways and Batik Air Malaysia contribute to the growth of tourist flows between Central and Southeast Asia.

Several Malaysian travel companies, including "Nuh Travel & Tours", "Soka Travel", "Rayhar Travel" and "Ikhlas Travel", presented tourism programmes at the fair covering pilgrimage tourism, historical and cultural tourism, “Umrah+”, gastronomic tourism and winter tourism.