Uzbekistan's Tourism Committee and Turkish Airlines have signed a memorandum of understanding. The document was signed on 7 November in Istanbul after a meeting between Tourism Committee Chairman Abdulaziz Akkulov, Turkish Airlines Chairman of the Board and Executive Committee Murat Seker, and Chief Commercial Officer Ahmet Harun Basturk.
The memorandum provides for promoting Uzbekistan as a tourist destination through Turkish Airlines' global route network and for making better use of existing flights. Plans include developing MICE tourism, joint international advertising campaigns, special tour packages, promotional fares and seasonal discounts.
A separate part covers work with the industry: B2B meetings with international tour operators, promotional events, familiarization trips for foreign journalists and bloggers, and video materials on Uzbekistan's historical and cultural heritage and attractions. The country will be promoted through Turkish Airlines' website, email campaigns, mobile apps and loyalty programme.
The sides will pay particular attention to destinations in the Turkish Airlines network that Uzbek national carriers do not serve, as well as incentives to boost passenger traffic to the country's main tourist cities.
Turkish Airlines serves 358 destinations in 133 countries. It carried 92.6 million passengers in 2025, according to Uzbekistan's Tourism Committee.
For Uzbekistan, this is a way to attract tourists from countries without direct flights by Uzbek airlines, via the Istanbul hub. For the airline, it is a chance to fill more seats on its flights to Tashkent, Samarkand and other cities in the country.
Our assessment: the memorandum sets a framework for cooperation, but specific campaigns and fares remain to be agreed. The main market effect should come where Turkish Airlines is strong and there is no direct service to Uzbekistan. This is the view of flycentralasia.