Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are launching new air routes and developing joint tours along the Silk Road.
Starting December 1, Kazakhstan’s SCAT Airlines will begin operating three new regular flights connecting the historical Kazakh city of Turkestan and the Uzbek cities of Bukhara, Urgench (Khiva), and Samarkand. Flights will operate three times a week.
According to the Kazakh government, initially, the flights will be subsidized to generate sustainable passenger traffic. The launch of these air routes is aimed at developing tourism and attracting more local and foreign tourists to the ancient Silk Road cities, as well as strengthening regional transport connectivity.
In addition, the Kazakh Ministry of Tourism and Sports has developed a concept for a common tourist route along the Central Asian Silk Road. It includes key cities in the region: Almaty, Shymkent, Turkestan, Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva.
In 2026, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan plan to jointly promote their tourism potential and combine the two countries’ tourism resources.
