AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Uzbekistan has launched major reforms to strengthen its tourism industry, with a particular focus on Islamic tourism as part of its national development strategy. The government is investing in infrastructure upgrades, encouraging private sector participation, and diversifying services to attract a greater number of international visitors.
Located in the heart of Central Asia, Uzbekistan is renowned for its historic cities of Samarkand and Bukhara, long regarded as significant destinations for Muslim travelers. Among the country’s most prominent Islamic heritage sites is the mausoleum of Imam al-Bukhari, the Sunni scholar and compiler of Sahih al-Bukhari, near Samarkand.
Development at the site, initiated by presidential order, includes the construction of a mosque with a capacity for 10,000 worshippers and four minarets each rising 75 meters. Restoration projects are also under way at the Maturidi complex and the shrine of Bahauddin Naqshband, a leading Sufi master, in Bukhara.
To enhance international promotion, Uzbekistan has launched the multilingual television channel “Imam Bukhari” and the online platform “Tabarruk Ziyorat,” providing information on 260 pilgrimage sites in seven languages.
The initiatives have already yielded results: in the first half of 2025, over 57 percent of visitors to Uzbekistan came from member and observer states of the Organization of Turkic States, underscoring the country’s growing appeal as a hub for Islamic tourism.
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