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.
Estimates from the ECO Secretariat indicate a 73.54 percent decrease in tourist arrivals for ECO member states in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with a 67.12 percent drop in tourism receipts. While some member states have exceeded pre-pandemic tourist numbers, others are still facing challenges. Some states are seeking to attract tourists from various regions through new flight and visa policies, given the evolving political and economic landscape. In 2024, more than 100 million tourists visited the ECO Member States, Türkiye (62.2 million), Kazakhstan (11.5 million), Kyrgyz Republic (8.62 million), Uzbekistan (8.2 million), and Iran (7.3 million) are the leading member states in terms of visitor numbers. Although the number of international tourists continued to rise in 2023 and 2024, public and private stakeholders at both national and regional levels must continue to collaborate to enhance regional travel.
Recent Activities
Declaring cities from the ECO member states as ECO Tourism Capitals has become a tradition. The 6th ECO Ministerial Meeting on Tourism convened on 26 April 2025 in Erzurum, the ECO Tourism Capital for 2025. The gathering brought together tourism leaders from nine ECO Member States to discuss regional tourism cooperation and development strategies. ECO Secretariat also attended the meeting as well as the representatives of ECO Observers, the Organization of Turkic States and Turkish Cypriot State.
The ministers approved the selection of Lahore from Pakistan, as the ECO Tourism Capital for 2027, Mary from Turkmenistan for 2028 and Karakol for 2029, recognizing their rich cultural heritage and tourism potential. A significant milestone of the meeting was also the official launch of the 1st Edition of the ECO Tourism Investment Guide, aimed at attracting investment and promoting tourism opportunities within the ECO region. The sideline events in Erzurum included the Official Opening Ceremony for ECO Tourism Capital for 2025 and Palandoken Economic Forum.
Moreover, the ECO Advisory Committee on Tourism (ECO-ACT) established to evaluate tourism initiatives and guide regional policies. In 2024, the draft Concept Note for the Establishment of the ECO-ACT was developed and considered approved by the Council of Ministers. Upon completion of the Committee’s composition, it will serve as a guiding platform to monitor tourism trends and provide recommendations for new tourism policies and strategies within the ECO region.
The ECO Secretariat implemented a project titled “Tour Operators’ Chain and Connectivity,” resulting in the establishment of the ECO Tour Operators’ Network (ETON), which unites more than 350 major tour operators from Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Currently, the network is operational and holds regular meetings. In 2024, the network conducted two virtual meetings. The 6th ETON Meeting, dated 3 April 2024, covered discussions on developing joint tour packages, aiming to enhance cross-border tourism within the ECO region and exchange ideas for the 1st ECO Tour Operators Forum, as well as the ECO Tourism Website.
ETON members gathered in person for the 1st ECO Tour Operators Forum held on 2-3 May 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The forum included panel discussions focused on strategies for creating, implementing, and marketing these itineraries, highlighting the importance of local and youth involvement, customer satisfaction, demand generation, appropriate contracting, and trial runs for proposed joint tour packages. The event also consisted of B2B meetings among tour operators and a roundtable meeting to explore further cooperation among representatives of tour companies in the ECO region. The 7th ETON Meeting, dated 1 July 2024, focused on ideas for facilitating travel conditions and increasing flight connectivity for organizing joint tours among member states, and the Aras Free Zone Geopark in Iran was introduced.
In 2024, the ECO Secretariat prepared the initial version of the ECO Tourism Website, and its launch was officially announced by the ECO Secretary-General during the 28th Meeting of the Council of Ministers held on 2-3 December 2024. The website is currently accessible at http://tourism.eco.int
Apart from that, the 1st ECO High-Level Expert Meeting on Visa Facilitation was held on 23 October 2024 and delegates from the member states provided information on recent measures taken to facilitate travel for tourists in their respective countries. The 4th Experts Group Meeting on Ecotourism was also co-hosted by the Republic of Türkiye and the ECO observer state, Turkish Cypriot State, in Girne city in hybrid mode on 25-27 November 2024. Delegates shared their practices regarding the development of nature-based tourism in the member states and agreed to continue collaborating to exchange ideas and best practices in this specific field of tourism. The meeting also proposed to hold more field trips in the member states to learn more about recent trends and current practices.
Director and Staff
Mr. Jasur Rajabov (Uzbek National)
Director for Tourism
Tel: + 98 (21)-22831733-34
Email: rajabov@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
Email: khalvandi@eco.int

Mr. Naimat Ullah (Pakistani National)
Desk Officer
Tel: + 98 (21)-22831733-34
Email: naimat@eco.int