Photo: Press Service of the President of Uzbekistan
On July 10, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev visited businesses located on Bunyodkor Street in Tashkent, which is regarded as one of the city's hubs of gastronomic tourism. The visit was reported by the presidential press service.
The president’s route covered areas of the Shaykhantahur and Chilanzar districts, through which Bunyodkor Avenue runs. The area is home to major cultural and artistic institutions, administrative buildings, residential complexes, supermarkets, and restaurants. Most notably, a 1.5-kilometer section of the street has recently been transformed into a pedestrian and culinary tourism zone.
Mirziyoyev was shown the improvements to this stretch, which now features decorative landscaping elements, fountains, and vibrant lighting. In short, the street has been outfitted with all the amenities for walking, dining, and leisure — both for residents and visitors to Tashkent.
According to the report, 90 businesses in the area have switched to 24-hour operations for the convenience of tourists — half of them newly opened. These enterprises have created 500 jobs.
Naturally, the changes have also impacted the local neighborhoods adjacent to the gastronomic street — Kamolon, Yangi Kamolon, and Kamolon Darvoza — where some 18,000 residents live. Including visitors, of course, that number rises significantly. City officials say Bunyodkor Avenue receives 255,000 tourists annually. The city administration aims to raise that figure to one million.
The report goes on to note that in recent years, more than 2,000 entrepreneurs have launched businesses in Uzbekistan’s tourism sector. Service infrastructure is developing rapidly across all regions, with the creation of tourist villages, guesthouses, and food-focused streets. The approach is yielding results: last year, the number of foreign visitors to Uzbekistan surpassed 10 million for the first time.
Bunyodkor Street is set to become part of a broader tourist network, with similar high-traffic areas already operating in the Mirabad, Almazar, Chilanzar, Yakkasaray, and Yangihayot districts of the capital.
Overall, the Tashkent hokimiyat (city administration) plans to convert 26 streets into 24/7 zones and increase the number of round-the-clock businesses to 1,000.
