(KPL/TASS) Russian tourists made over 3.75 million trips to Central Asian countries last year, with the number of Russian travelers to the region growing steadily, Russian Deputy Minister of Economic Development Murat Kerefov stated during his speech at the first Central Asian International Economic Forum in Dushanbe.

"More and more Russians are choosing Central Asian countries for vacation. Last year Russians made over 3.75 million tourist trips here. The most significant growth in tourist flow from Russia was recorded in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan," the minister noted.

Kerefov emphasized the importance of stimulating tourism between Russia and Central Asia. "To achieve this, we are working on improving legislation, including reducing financial burdens on tour operators offering packages to friendly countries. We are integrating Central Asian tourism organizations into our digital booking systems and participating in joint major tourism events," the official explained.

He added that Russian authorities are also taking measures to attract more foreign tourists, including the launch of the Discover Russia program aimed at promoting the tourism potential of Russian regions internationally, as well as the development of a hotel certification system for Muslim-Friendly and Halal standards. "We have assembled a substantial pool of joint tourism investment projects totaling about $14 billion," Kerefov stressed.

Earlier, Russian Minister of Economic Development Maksim Reshetnikov stated that significant changes are underway in the tourism sector across the nations belonging to the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). He emphasized that members of CIS now offer high levels of comfort and safety for tourists, with Russians always being welcome. Additionally, residents of Russia and other CIS nations benefit from a lack of language barriers.

KPL