BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. Uzbekistan will launch direct air service between Tashkent and Mauritius for the first time on December 26, opening a new tourism route to the African island nation and creating opportunities to turn Tashkent into a transit hub for travelers from Central Asia and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
This was reflected in the statement by the Tourism Committee of Uzbekistan.
The new route will initially operate four round-trip flights on the Tashkent-Mauritius route in December and January. Starting in June 2027, the service is expected to become a regular weekly flight.
The launch is expected to expand tourism links between Uzbekistan and Mauritius while providing travelers from Kazakhstan, Russia and other CIS countries with an additional option for reaching Mauritius via Tashkent.
The new air connection was discussed during a meeting of tourism industry representatives from Uzbekistan and Mauritius in Tashkent. The event was organized by Uzbek travel company Prestige Travel in cooperation with Uzbekistan’s Tourism Committee and brought together Mauritian tourism companies, hotel brands and Uzbek tour operators.
“The new flights are important for increasing mutual tourist flows. At the same time, they open the Mauritian market as a new tourism destination for Uzbekistan,” Oybek Akhmedov, founder of Prestige Travel, said.
Akhmedov said Mauritius’ sizeable Indian-Muslim community could create opportunities for developing pilgrimage and gastronomic tourism between the two countries.
He added that Uzbek tourism companies could develop specialized packages for Mauritian visitors featuring the historical and cultural heritage of Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva and Tashkent, along with sites associated with Islamic civilization and Uzbek national cuisine.
The new route is being launched under Uzbekistan’s “Open Tourist Season” program, which provides financial incentives to support new international air connections and attract foreign visitors.
Under the program, airlines opening new routes receive a $100 subsidy for each foreign tourist attracted, as well as a 20% discount on airport services. Local tour operators can receive $5,000 for every 1,000 tourists brought to Uzbekistan from countries outside the region.
The Tashkent-Mauritius connection is therefore expected to support not only bilateral tourism but also Uzbekistan’s broader strategy to expand international air connectivity and strengthen Tashkent’s role as a regional transit hub.
