The underrated little country that’s nicknamed ‘Venice in the desert’

The central Asian country, Uzbekistan, is undertaking an ambitious plan to boost tourism but critics are warning about turning it into a “Venice in the desert”.

Tucked away in central lies a country known for its stunning mosques, mausoleums and other sites linked to the , the ancient trade route between China and the Mediterranean.

However, despite everything Uzbekistan has to offer, very few tourists have yet to discover its offerings – a .

The country is embarking on an ambitious drive to boost , with new hotels appearing on every street at a rapid pace – a move that not all are on board with.

In the small historic city of Khiva, which is surrounded by mud forts and cannot be expanded, its iconic mud-and-straw houses are being knocked down and replaced with model .

A Uzbeck architect told : “Every year, there are more and more tourists. I have always thought of Bukhara as a living organism, and that organism is becoming very weak and fragile. It should not become a town solely for tourists but for its residents as well. It risks becoming a in the desert.”

According to Svetlana Gorshenina, a researcher and member of the Uzbek heritage protection association, Alerte Héritage, the concept of the Silk Road has become the country’s major selling point, with themed restaurants, shops and tours. In 2022, a bizarre Disneyland replica, Silk Road Samarkand, was opened outside .

Gorshenina said: “It has become our only selling point and it’s self-exoticising. It’s a kind of self-orientalisation, which is a hangover from colonialism.”

A tourism sector boost has become one of the major goals of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s Uzbekistan 2030 strategy, which includes increasing the number of foreign tourists to 15 million. In 2024, this figure stood at 8.2 million, up from 6.6 in the previous year, according to .

In fact, Uzbekistan has risen an impressive 16 places in the World Economic Forum’s , now ranking 78th out of 119 countries.

In Bukhara, an ancient city that was a prominent stop on the Silk Road, home to hundreds of well-preserved mosques and bazaars, a 33-hectare site outside the old town has been set aside for a leisure complex – Eternal Bukhara.

Enter Engineering, which is building the complex, also plans to build a number of five-star hotels, with up to 700 rooms on site, as well as medical facilities to cater to a new type of tourist that Uzbekistan is trying to attract – those who come for cheap healthcare, including dentistry and .

Gorshenina added: “For years, Uzbekistan has been undergoing a process of emptying city centres of their inhabitants.

“We are witnessing a transformation of towns into museum-towns that are made for tourists.

“In Bukhara, you already have this ‘tourist zone’ that is clearly separate from the rest of the town where residents live. It’s become an open-air museum.”

It remains to be seen whether Uzbekistan will be able to balance the benefits of – thousands of jobs and a huge economic boost – with the risks of destroying the country’s ancient heritage, which tourists travel to see.

Venice, arguably, has not managed to find this balance yet, having recently been and “unliveable” for residents.