Şanlıurfa (Türkiye) is the ‘2023 OIC City of Tourism’ and Khiva (Uzbekistan) is the ‘2024 OIC City of Tourism’
Date: 26 July 2022

The 11th Session of the Islamic Conference of Tourism Ministers (ICTM), which was held on 27-29 June 2022 in Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan, declared the city of Şanlıurfa (Republic of Türkiye) as the “OIC City of Tourism” for 2023 and Khiva (Republic of Uzbekistan) as the “OIC City of Tourism” for 2024.

Şanlıurfa (Türkiye): Brief Tourism Information

Located in Southeastern Anatolia, Şanlıurfa is an attractive tourism destination both locally and internationally, offering its guests a wide array of experiences with its noticeable tourist attractions such as the Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum Complex (the Archaeological Museum and the Haleplibahçe Mosaic Museum), Balıklı Lake, Göbeklitepe, Harran and the Tek Tek Mountains National Park, Birecik and Halfeti, the traditional music and costumes, historical Islamic monuments and mosques, and its delightful cuisine. Şanlıurfa is also known as the ‘City of Prophets’ in history. The city attracted more than one million tourists (domestic and international) before the outbreak of the pandemic in 2019 and is ready to host a significant number of tourists in 2023 as the ‘OIC City of Tourism’ thanks to its 88 available licensed accommodation facilities. The city has Şanlıurfa GAP Airport. More information on Şanlıurfa can be obtained through https://visiturfa.com and https://gosanliurfaturkiye.com/

Khiva (Uzbekistan): Brief Tourism Information

Khiva is one of the oldest cities in Uzbekistan, which was founded more than 2500 years ago. The ancient Khiva is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List and all the attractions are protected. The city hosts more than 100 ancient mosques, madrassas, minarets, and mausoleums of prominent Islamic scholars. The city is home to palaces and residences of ancient Khiva rulers and has a puppet theater, which, according to conservative estimates, is about 2000 years old. The city is a popular tourism destination and hosted more than 420 thousand international tourists and 2.2 million domestic tourists before the outbreak of the pandemic in 2019 in its 113 available licensed accommodation facilities. As the ‘OIC City of Tourism’ for 2024, Khiva is expected to see an influx of domestic and international tourists and will host a series of touristic events. Urgench International Airport is 25 km far from the city of Khiva. More information on Khiva can be obtained through: https://uzbekistan.travel/en/i/khiva/ and https://khivamuseum.uz/en

Documents and Links:

  • Report of the Seventh Coordination Committee Meeting on Tourism (English)
  • Report of the 11th Session of the ICTM (English)
  • Resolution on the Development of Tourism among OIC Member States (English)