Uzbekistan passes 10 million foreign visitors in nine months of 2026
In September alone, 1.2 million foreign visitors arrived in Uzbekistan. Over the first nine months of 2026 the total reached 10.3 million, up 20.4% on the same period last year.
Who is coming
The fastest growth comes from Asia. Arrivals from China rose 2.1 times, from Malaysia 1.9 times, from Indonesia 1.7 times and from Japan 1.5 times. Visitors from Egypt and Romania grew 1.8 times, from the USA 1.4 times. Germany and the UK added 25% each, France 21%.
Spending grew even faster than arrivals: tourism exports reached $5.3 billion, up 51.2%.
Room for everyone
The country keeps building. Between January and July 2026, 705 new places to stay opened, adding 22,296 beds; Uzbekistan now has 7,440 registered hotels and guesthouses with space for more than 202,000 guests. Since May the Jaloliddin Manguberdi high-speed train runs from Tashkent to Khiva in about seven and a half hours instead of fourteen.
Uzbekistan also took fifth place in the 2026 ranking of destinations for solo adventure travel by Much Better Adventures, which looks at safety, entry rules, costs and hiking.
Our advice
Autumn and spring are when we are busiest. If your dates are fixed, book trains and boutique hotels in Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva early. Ready-made routes are in our tour catalogue.
In short
- 10.3 million foreign visitors in January–September 2026, up 20.4%.
- China doubled, Japan up 1.5 times, Germany and the UK up 25%.
- 705 new places to stay opened in the first seven months.
- Popular dates fill up: plan ahead.