Introduction

The Directorate for Tourism is responsible for initiating, implementing, and monitoring the ECO Secretariat’s activities in the tourism sector. This unit is also tasked with pursuing the expected outcomes envisaged under Priority 4 (Tourism) of the ECO Vision 2025. The Treaty of Izmir (Article II, para “n”) identifies the importance of further strengthening historical and cultural ties among the peoples of the ECO region and fostering exchanges in the field of tourism to enhance regional cooperation in this area.

In line with the above-mentioned objectives, the Directorate for Tourism is undertaking initiatives in the following areas to promote tourism in the region:

Branding, marketing, and promotion
Travel and tourism facilitation
Diversification of tourism products and services
Human resource and capacity building to enhance the quality of tourism services
Quality development and harmonization of rules and procedures for the sustainability of the natural and cultural environment
Digitalization
Investment generation and facilitation
Private sector and local community involvement in tourism activities

The Directorate has initiated for establishment of partnerships with relevant international organization to ensure timely and effective achievements of the goals and objectives.

Tourism Potential of the ECO Region

The ECO Region is renowned for its natural beauty and the diversity of its historical and cultural heritage, echoing the memories of the ancient Silk Road and home to 86 UNESCO-registered World Heritage Sites. The member countries have much to offer in terms of culture, pilgrimage, ecotourism, health and wellness, gastronomy, and other types of tourism, all of which can attract tourists from different parts of the world.

The tourism sector in the ECO region has made remarkable strides, driven by the strong collaborative efforts of national tourism authorities and key regional stakeholders. Foreign visitor arrivals to ECO Member States reached 105 million in 2024, which is 13.8% above the 2019 pre-pandemic level, marking a historic milestone and reflecting robust growth across the ECO region. In 2025, the tourism sector continued to demonstrate its strategic importance as a key driver of economic integration, cultural exchange, and sustainable development across the ECO region. According to the estimates of the ECO Secretariat, the total visitor arrivals to the Member States collectively has reached around 108 million at the end of 2025.

The share of the ECO Member States within the global economic contribution of the travel and tourism sector raised from 1.55% to 2.27% between 2019 and 2024. The total contribution of the travel and tourism sector to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the ECO region increase to 247.68 billion USD. In 2024, the average GDP contribution of the travel and tourism sector per capita in the ECO Member States is 480.58 USD

Recent Activities

Declaring cities from the ECO member states as ECO Tourism Capitals has become a tradition. The 7^th ECO Ministerial Meeting on Tourism was successfully held on 29 April 2026 in the historic city of Shusha, designated as the ECO Tourism Capital for 2026. The high-level gathering brought together Ministers and senior representatives from ECO Member States. The ECO Secretary General formally presented the certificate to the Chairman of the State Tourism Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the opening of the meeting. The Ministers deliberated on a range of strategic initiatives aimed at fostering sustainable and inclusive tourism growth. These included official the launch of the ECO Compendium of Best Practices in Ecotourism, and the Policy Brief on Diversifying Regional Tourism as well as the selection of Aktau as the ECO Tourism Capital for 2030. The Meeting also discussed strengthening tourism education, jointly marketing of destinations and promoting investment opportunities across the region.

The First Meeting of ECO Advisory Committee on Tourism (ECO-ACT) held in Tashkent on 26 November 2025, overviewed the progress within the ECO Vision 2025 and reviewed the tourism part of the draft Strategic Goals of Economic Cooperation for 2035 (SGEC-2035), recommending a more consolidated structure for regional tourism cooperation. ECO-ACT also reviewed the draft Roadmap for Expansion of Tourism Services- 2030 (RETS-2030). The Second ECO-ACT Meeting held virtually on 28 July 2026 under the chairmanship of the ECO Secretariat, brought together representatives of the ECO Member States to review key recent priorities for regional tourism cooperation and to advance the finalization of the draft RETS-2030.

The Third ECO Confobition (Conference+Exhibition) on Health Tourism held on 11-13 June 2025 in Hamadan, Islamic Republic of Iran. The Hamadan Declaration, as a further key step in strengthening and diversifying intra-regional tourism cooperation, outlined shared goals, principles, and proposed mechanisms to enhance regional health tourism integration.

The Republic of Kazakhstan hosted the International Tourism Forum of Economic Cooperation Organization in Aktau on 25–26 September 2025, bringing together government officials, tourism authorities, investors, and industry stakeholders from across and beyond the ECO region to raise awareness of the ECO region’s investment and marketing opportunities in the field of tourism.

The First Meeting of the ECO Silk Road Task Force held in Sheki, Azerbaijan, on 29 October 2025 reaffirmed Member States’ interest in revitalizing the Silk Road as a strategic theme in tourism cooperation. This meeting also officially launched the Second Special Edition of the ECO Chronicle dedicated to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the ECO Region.

The Second ECO Tour Operators Forum, jointly hosted by Türkiye and the Turkish Cypriot State from 18–22 November 2025 also enabled private sector representatives to engage in valuable dialogue on joint tour packages and explore the prospects for establishing the ECO Tourism Agencies Federation.

Fourth Meeting of the ECO Tourism and Transport Task Force, a vital platform for discussing the nexus between tourism development and transport facilitation. Based on the recommendations received during this meeting, the Secretariat initiated the preparation of an ECO Tourism Connectivity Policy Framework or a Master Plan to guide future actions in enhancing regional tourism mobility and accessibility across Member States.

Furthermore, one of the notable accomplishments was the establishment of the ECO Tourism Education Network (ECO-TEN). The Member States started to nominate the members for registration into ECO-TEN will contribute to strengthening regional cooperation in tourism education and capacity building, promoting a shared understanding of sustainable tourism practices across the ECO region.

Director and Staff

Mr. Ilkhomjon Abdraimov (Uzbek National)

Director for Tourism

Tel: + 98 (21)-22831733-34

Email: abdraimov@eco.int

Mr. Hasan Tufan (Turkish National)

Program Officer

Tel: + 98 (21)-22831733-34

Email: tufan@eco.int

Ms. Hosna Khalvandi (Iranian National)

Program Officer

Tel: + 98 (21)-22831733-34