Category: News

The Economic Cooperation Organization convened a virtual meeting to discuss updates to the selection criteria for the prestigious “ECO Tourism Capital” initiative, which annually highlights a city from ECO Member States for its historical, cultural, and tourism potential. The meeting was attended by the representatives of the tourism authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Republic of Türkiye and the Republic of Uzbekistan and was chaired by the ECO Secretariat.

Mr. Jasur Rajabov, Director for Tourism at the ECO Secretariat, while opening the meeting, emphasized the initiative’s alignment with the goals of ECO Vision 2025 for sustainable development and enhanced regional integration through tourism. The delegates then assessed each criterion, focusing on the alignment of the initiative with ECO’s values of heritage preservation, inclusivity, and sustainable tourism practices. 

Introduced in 2019, the ECO Tourism Capital initiative aims to celebrate the cultural heritage and natural beauty of cities within the ECO region. Each year, a selected city will receive the ECO Tourism Capital designation, providing it with regional visibility and opportunities to attract tourism-related investment, strengthen local economies, and improve infrastructure. Currently city of Shahrisabz in Uzbekistan holds the title which will be taken over by city of Erzurum in Türkiye in 2025.

On 9 October 2024, a virtual consultative meeting was held to advance Erzurum’s preparation as the ECO Tourism Capital for 2025. Key representatives from the ECO Secretariat, Turkish officials and local stakeholders attended the meeting, which focused on the upcoming celebration activities.

Opening the meeting, ECO Deputy Secretary General Ambassador Jandos Asanov highlighted that the initiative to select cities from the region as the ECO Tourism Capitals has become a well-known tradition of the organization, and the events planned for next year in Erzurum, including next ECO Ministerial Meeting on Tourism will help showcase the city’s rich cultural heritage, historical significance and untapped tourism potential. Mr. Muharrem Çığlık, coordinator of the Erzurum events, outlined a series of activities leading up to the main event in April 2025, when Erzurum will be officially declared the ECO Tourism Capital, in the presence of H.E. President of the Republic of Türkiye and notable representatives from the ECO Member States.

Representatives of the Turkish authorities involved, including the Ministry of Tourism and Culture of the Republic of Turkiye, the Erzurum Governor’s Office, the Erzurum Metropolitan Municipality and the universities based in Erzurum, expressed their strong support for the initiatives to promote the city. In conclusion, Ambassador Asanov thanked Mr Çığlık and urged the Turkish side to provide the Secretariat with timely planning updates for the smooth running of the events to promote tourism in Erzurum.

A pivotal ECO High Level Experts Meeting on Visa Facilitation was held in virtual mode, with representatives from the ECO Member States including Iran, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Türkiye, and Uzbekistan. The meeting underscored the critical need for enhanced travel facilitation and seamless connectivity throughout the ECO region, essential for bolstering tourism as prioritized in the ECO Vision 2025. 

The meeting deliberated on the visa regimes among the Member States and discussed recent initiatives undertaken by Member States to streamline tourism visas. The participants also exchanged views on development of new common visa applications which could help to further promote tourism in the region. It was agreed that the Member States will continue to provide up-to-date information on tourism visas through regular meetings.