TravTalk India Online Magazine
Uzbekistan is set to create a splash in the Indian tourism market by simplifying its visa regime and offering a five-day free-visa transit. It has appointed Nijhawan as advisor for tourism of Embassy of Uzbekistan.
Nisha Verma
he Embassy of Uzbekistan is undertaking various initiatives to attract Indian travellers to its shore as India remains a high potential market for the country. Nijhawan Group has therefore, been appointed as the advisor for tourism promotion of Embassy of Uzbekistan in India. Making the announcement is Farhod Arziev, Ambassador of the Republic of Uzbekistan to India, who says, “We have agreed on many ways of promotion of tourism potential of Uzbekistan in India. With a focus on increasing the number of tourists from India to Uzbekistan, we would be happy to work with the Nijhawan Group in this sphere.”
Ankush Nijhawan, Managing Director, Nijhawan Group added, “We aim to generate wide awareness and publicity on Uzbekistan as a preferred leisure and business destination whilst boosting the country’s tourist arrivals. With this partnership, we are confident to unravel the full potential of India’s growth story. With the Indian outbound at a record high, we are confident of strong numbers coming in from the region.”
With this partnership, we are confident to unravel the full potential of India’s growth story. With the Indian outbound at a record high, we are confident of strong numbers coming in from the region
-Ankush Nijhawan
Arziev added that the proximity of the destination and frequency of flights to Uzbekistan from India makes it a preferable destination for Indians. “There is a great scope to expand the tourism exchange between the two countries. Uzbekistan is just 2.5 hours away from India and we have direct flights from Delhi to Tashkent daily. We are also going to establish new direct flights from Mumbai to Tashkent. In addition, we have common history, culture and traditions. As a destination, Uzbekistan has a variety of unique products for Indian travellers, be it for heritage tourism, family tourism, adventure or MiCE.”
Arziev also explained that the country has simplified the visa process for Indians. “From February this year, we have included Indians into the list of countries for which we have introduced simplified visa process. Uzbekistan will launch the e-visas system starting from July 15, 2018 for the citizens of 101 countries including India. The consular fee for processing and issuing an e-visa is $20. The visa relaxations are expected to further boost people-to-people exchanges between Uzbekistan and India by enhancing convenience for Indian tourists, business persons as well as repeat visitors. We also plan to start a five-day visa free transit for transit passengers from India soon.”
Nijhawan further adds, “The first step is to create awareness about the destination and pave way for communication between Indian agents with the DMC partners in Uzbekistan. We plan to organise Fam tours of both trade and media to the destination so that Indians know about the tourism potential of Uzbekistan,” he added.
Uzbek USP
- Uzbekistan has a beautiful landscape and ancient cultural heritage, including the silk route
