UNJournal Lee Sung Jun | Uzbekistan has emerged as the standout performer in Central Asia's tourism sector, leading a regional surge that the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has identified as the fastest-growing in the world in 2025, according to the organisation's Travel & Tourism Economic Impact Research 2026 report.

The WTTC, which divides the world into 13 major regions for the purposes of its annual research, found that Central Asia ranked first globally across several key tourism performance indicators last year. Within the region, Uzbekistan recorded the strongest results across all measured categories, cementing its position as the dominant force in Central Asian tourism.

Record Growth Across the Board

The numbers underlying Central Asia's ascent are striking. The total contribution of travel and tourism to the region's gross domestic product grew by 17.7 percent in 2025, while the sector's direct GDP contribution expanded by 19.6 percent. Visitor exports — a key measure of international tourism revenue — reached $9.9 billion, representing a 26.4 percent increase over the previous year and securing Central Asia's first-place global ranking in that category.

Uzbekistan's contribution was decisive. Of the region's $9.9 billion in visitor exports, $4.8 billion — nearly half — was generated by Uzbekistan alone. The WTTC report also identified Uzbekistan as the most popular travel destination for residents across the Central Asian region, attributing its appeal to its rich historical and cultural heritage and its strong draw for travellers from neighbouring countries.

"Overall, these figures confirm the regional nature of tourism: residents of Central Asia travel within their own region more frequently than anywhere else," the report noted.

The Structure of Central Asian Tourism

The report offers a detailed picture of how tourism spending in the region is composed. International visitors accounted for 64.3 percent of all tourism expenditure in Central Asia in 2025, with domestic regional tourism making up the remaining 35.7 percent. Among international visitor spending, leisure travel dominated at 84.5 percent, while business travel represented 15.5 percent.

A Unified Tourism Space on the Horizon

Beyond the headline growth figures, the WTTC report draws attention to the significant untapped potential of Central Asia as a unified tourism destination. The organisation's experts argue that simplifying border crossing procedures, expanding air connectivity and transport infrastructure, developing joint cross-border tourism routes, and marketing Central Asia as a single coherent destination could substantially increase the flow of international visitors from outside the region.

The implicit message is that while intra-regional travel is currently the primary engine of growth, the foundations are being laid for a broader international breakthrough — one that would draw tourists from Europe, East Asia, and beyond to a region whose ancient Silk Road cities, dramatic landscapes, and distinctive cultures remain relatively undiscovered by global mass tourism.

Looking to 2036

The long-term outlook presented by WTTC is equally encouraging. The organisation forecasts that by 2036, the total contribution of the travel and tourism sector to Central Asia's economy will reach $29.7 billion — a projection that underscores the scale of the opportunity facing governments and private investors in the region.

For Uzbekistan, which has pursued an active programme of tourism liberalisation and infrastructure development in recent years, the WTTC's findings provide authoritative external validation of a strategy that is already delivering measurable results.