UZBEKISTAN: Uzbekistan Classified 5th Safest Country For Single tourists

The report was based on a survey of residents of 142 countries according to several criteria, among which were questions about how safe they feel when walking alone in the city at night, whether they trust the local police and whether they have been robbed or attacked.

Singapore has the highest security index (97 units). It is followed by Norway, Iceland and Finland, each with a safety index of 93 units.

According to the press service of the State Committee for Tourism of Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan ranked fifth in the ranking (91 units), followed by Hong Kong (91 units), Switzerland (91 units), Canada (90 units), Indonesia (89 units) and Denmark (88 units).

According to the legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan foreign citizens and stateless persons can enter Uzbekistan or travel through its territory for transit on the basis of entrance visas only.

Foreign citizens and stateless persons can get visas at the diplomatic representations and consular missions of the Republic of Uzbekistan abroad on the basis of the visa support upon confirmation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

1. A bilateral visa-free regime has been established with Kyrgyzstan of up to 60 days, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine.

2. From February 10, 2018, a visa-free regime was introduced for 30 days period for citizens of 7 countries: Japan, Indonesia, Israel, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Turkey.

The visa-free regime applies to citizens of these countries, holders of all categories of passports - diplomatic, service and civil planning to visit the Republic of Uzbekistan for up to 30 days, regardless of the purpose of their trip.

In order to enter the country, a person must have a valid national passport or another substitute document used for travel to foreign countries.

The visa-free regime does not apply to stateless persons permanently residing in the territories of these countries.

Accordingly, the visa-free regime is valid for 30 days from the date of entry into Uzbekistan. Before the end of the 30-day visa-free stay period, a foreign citizen must leave the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Exceeding the 30-day visa-free stay is recognized as violation of the Rules of stay of foreign citizens in the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Accordingly, if it is necessary to stay in Uzbekistan for more than 30 days, a foreign citizen must obtain an entry visa to the Republic of Uzbekistan in accordance with the established procedure, corresponding to the purpose of his trip.

3. From February 10, 2018, simplified procedure for issuing tourist visas is introduced for citizens of 39 countries as listed below.

That implies getting visa within two working days, not counting the day of receiving documents, with the cancellation of the requirement to provide a tourist voucher or an inviting legal / physical person in the Republic of Uzbekistan to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Previously, the simplified procedure for issuing visas was available for citizens of Austria, Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, Spain, Italy, Latvia, France, Switzerland, Thailand, Czech Republic and Poland.

Tourists from these countries are given multiple-entry visas for up to 1 month, and representatives of the business community for up to 1 year, without requiring a tour voucher or an invitation from an inviting legal or physical person in Uzbekistan to the Uzbek Foreign Ministry.

Visas are issued within 2 working days, not counting the day of receipt of documents.

4. A visa-free regime is established with China, Hungary and Tajikistan (up to 30 days), Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (up to 60 days), Brazil, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Estonia, Kuwait and Turkey (up to 90 days).

Citizens of these countries who hold diplomatic passports and are accredited as employees of diplomatic missions or consular offices of their countries located on the territory of Uzbekistan, as well as members of their families have the right to enter and stay without visas for the entire period of work.

5. Uzbekistan and Japan issue visas without consular fees on the mutual basis.

6. According to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan No.3836 of July 4, 2018 “On further measures for optimizing the order of entry of foreign citizens into the Republic of Uzbekistan” since July 15, 2018 these regulations are implemented:

- the system of issuing electronic entry tourist visas for foreign citizens, who enjoy a simplified procedure for issuing visa (list of countries is attached);

- short-term transit visa-free entry to the Republic of Uzbekistan for a period not exceeding five days for citizens of a number of countries (list of countries is attached). In this case the foreigners must transit through international airports of the Republic of Uzbekistan, provided they have an air ticket to a third country. This procedure applies transiting passengers wishing to explore the sights of Uzbekistan;

- visa-free entry to the Republic of Uzbekistan for foreign citizens up to 16 year old with biometric travel document. In this case they must be accompanied by legal representatives and they can stay in Uzbekistan for the duration of the visa of the accompanying person, but not more than ninety days since the date of entry into the country.

The list of countries whose citizens can enjoy simplified procedure for issuing tourist visa as well as on “e-visa.gov.uz”

1. Albania
2. Andorra
3. Australia
4. Austria
5. Belgium
6. Bosnia and Herzegovina
7. Bulgaria
8. Canada
9. China
10. Croatia
11. Czech Republic
12. Denmark
13. Estonia
14. Finland
15. France
16. Germany
17. Greece
18. Hungary
19. Iceland
20. India
21. Ireland
22. Italy
23. Kuwait
24. Latvia
25. Liechtenstein
26. Lithuania
27. Luxembourg
28. Macedonia
29. Malta
30. Monaco
31. Montenegro
32. Netherlands
33. New Zealand
34. Norway
35. Oman
36. Poland
37. Portugal
38. Romania
39. San Marino
40. Saudi Arabia
41. Serbia
42. Slovakia
43. Slovenia
44. Spain
45. Sweden
46. Switzerland
47. Thailand
48. United Arab Emirates
49. United Kingdom
50. United States of America
51. Vatican

The list of countries whose citizens can enjoy visa-free transit entry, stay up to 5 days

1. Albania
2. Algeria
3. Andorra
4. Antigua and Barbuda
5. Argentina
6. Australia
7. Austria
8. Bahamas
9. Bahrain
10. Barbados
11. Belgium
12. Belize
13. Bhutan
14. Bosnia and Herzegovina
15. Brazil
16. Brunei Darussalam
17. Bulgaria
18. Canada
19. Chile
20. China
21. Colombia
22. Costa Rica
23. Croatia
24. Cyprus
25. Czech Republic
26. Denmark
27. Dominica
28. Dominican Republic
29. Ecuador
30. Equatorial Guinea
31. Estonia
32. Fiji
33. Finland
34. France
35. Gabon
36. Germany
37. Greece
38. Grenada
39. Guatemala
40. Guyana
41. Honduras
42. Hungary
43. Iceland
44. India
45. Ireland
46. Italy
47. Jamaica
48. Kuwait
49. Latvia
50. Lebanon
51. Liechtenstein
52. Lithuania
53. Luxembourg
54. Macedonia
55. Maldives
56. Malta
57. Mauritius
58. Mexico
59. Monaco
60. Mongolia
61. Montenegro
62. Morocco
63. Nauru
64. Netherlands
65. New Zealand
66. Norway
67. Oman
68. Palau
69. Panama
70. Peru
71. Philippines
72. Poland
73. Portugal
74. Qatar
75. Romania
76. Saint Kitts and Nevis
77. Saint Lucia
78. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
79. San Marino
80. Saudi Arabia
81. Serbia
82. Seychelles
83. Slovakia
84. Slovenia
85. South Africa
86. Spain
87. Sri Lanka
88. Suriname
89. Sweden
90. Switzerland
91. Thailand
92. Trinidad and Tobago
93. Tunisia
94. Turkmenistan
95. United Arab Emirates
96. United Kingdom
97. United States of America
98. Uruguay
99. Vatican
100. Venezuela
101. Vietnam

The nationals of those countries which are not mentioned above should have a visa support - letter of invitation to obtain tourist visa to Uzbekistan.

Letter of invitation will be issued on the basis of visa application form and other documents submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan by our company on the behalf of the tourist.

The legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan has set the following consular fees for the visa issuance:

a) For single entry visas:

· up to 7 days — $40;
· up to 15 days — $50;
· up to 30 days — $60;
· up to 3 months — $80;
· up to 6 months — $120;
· up to 1 year — $160.

Note: For each additional entry the fee shall be increased by $10.

b) For multiple entry visas:

· up to 6 months — $150;
· up to 1 year — $250.

c) For transit visas:

· up to 72 hours — $40;
· double entry transit visa — $50.

d) For group visas (groups must consist of more than 5 persons excluding children under 16 years old):

· up to 15 days — $15 per person;
· up to 30 days — $25 per person.

Except these fees the fees for reimbursement of actual expenses related to the visa issuance (administrative fees) will also be paid. The rates of these fees depend on the place of visa issuance (irrespective of applicant’s citizenship).

Note: Different procedure for issuance of entry visas may be applied to the citizens of those countries that have appropriate bilateral agreements with Uzbekistan.

Letter of Invitation to Uzbekistan (LOI)

To get a Letter of Invitation to Uzbekistan (LOI), please do the following:

- Fill out Uzbekistan Visa Support / Letter of Invitation (LOI) Form: Download Form

- Email us a good quality scan of your passport

- Email us a scan of an employment letter (retirees and housewives don't need it)

Flight tickets itinerary or flight reservation form is required only if visa is to be obtained on arrival at the International Airports of Uzbekistan.

Once we have received all above required documents and payment, we will submit your documents for approval by the Uzbek authorities. The approval period is about 3-5 working days.

Many travel agents "make" tourists to buy a tour package with a fixed itinerary. Our company doesn't "make" you do that.

Once your application is approved we will send you Visa Application Form and Letter of Invitation (LOI). As soon as you receive the papers you can apply for your Uzbek visa at the requested Embassy.

Why do 84% of tourists choose us?
Check mark Letter of invitation (LOI) without any extra services
Check mark The 2019 year's best price for Letter of invitation (LOI)
Check mark Reputation. We’re reliable, well known and people recommend us
Check mark 24 hour customer service
Check mark Instant answers to your questions
Check mark Big and professional team
Check mark Payment on arrival
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Cities and countries where an Uzbek visa can be obtained:
Abu Dhabi - The United Arab Emirates
Almaty - Kazakhstan
Ankara - Turkey
Ashkhabad - Turkmenistan
Athens - Greece
Baku - Azerbaijan
Bangkok - Thailand
Beijing - China
Berlin - Germany
Bishkek - Kyrgyzstan
Brussels - Belgium
Bukhara - Uzbekistan
Cairo - Egypt
Dubai - The United Arab Emirates
Dushanbe - Tajikistan
Frankfurt am Main - Germany
Islamabad - Pakistan
Istanbul - Turkey
Jakarta - Indonesia
Jeddah - Saudi Arabia
Kabul - Afghanistan
Kiev - Ukraine
Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia
Kuwait - Kuwait
London - The United Kingdom
Madrid - Spain
Mazare-Sharif - Afghanistan
Moscow - Russia
New Delhi - India
New York - The United States
Novosibirsk - Russia
Nukus - Uzbekistan
Paris - France
Riga - Latvia
Riyadh - Saudi Arabia
Rome - Italy
Samarkand - Uzbekistan
Seoul - South Korea
Shanghai - China
Singapore - Singapore
Tashkent Airport - Uzbekistan
Tashkent MFA - Uzbekistan
Tehran - Iran
Tel Aviv - Israel
Termez - Uzbekistan
Tokyo - Japan
Urgench - Uzbekistan
Vienna - Austria
Warsaw - Poland
Washington - The United States

- Children under 12 – half price.

- 10$ for each additional entry, double or triple entry visa.

- 100$ for visa extension up to 7 days - EXIT VISA.


Tourism Observer

ROMANIA: About Romania

To mark Romania's independence day, here are a few quirky facts about the country.

1. It’s home to the world’s heaviest building

Bucharest’s vast Palace of the Parliament, begun during the final years of Nicolae Ceaușescu’s rule and not finished until 1997 (seven years after his death), is 240 metres long, 270 metres wide, 86 metres high (12 storeys), and cost a staggering €3 billion (£2.5bn) to build.

The other numbers are remarkable. As many as 100,000 people worked on the site, hundreds of whom are thought to have perished. It has 1,100 rooms (the vast majority of which lie empty) and an annual heating bill of $6m (£4.63m), equivalent to that of a small city. There are eight underground levels, as well as a nuclear bunker linked to other government buildings by 20km of tunnels.

It all adds up to an area 365,000 square metres, second only to The Pentagon as far as administrative buildings are concerned, and it has a volume of 2.55 million square metres, a shade more than the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Inside you’ll find 3,500 tonnes of crystal, 480 chandeliers and 1,409 ceiling lights, while 700,000 tonnes of steel and bronze was used for monumental doors and windows. Guinness World Records recognises it as the heaviest building on the planet.

2. And the world’s most beautiful road

In his search for the “world’s best driving road” Jeremy Clarkson declared that he had found it in the middle of Romania – in the form of the Transfagarasan highway. Whichever way you look at it, it is an extraordinary feat of engineering: a stretch of tarmac packed with tunnels, viaducts and bridges and which takes the skill of navigating hairpin bends to new heights.

The road was another Ceaușescu creation. He wanted to ensure that in the event of a Soviet invasion there was a speedy way of escaping through the strategic (and scenic) mountain passes of the Southern Carpathians (not that it was ever used for that purpose).

3. They love a drink

Romania is the fifth booziest country in the world, behind four more Eastern European states: Belarus, Russia, Moldova and Lithuania. The average Romanian consumes 14.4 litres of pure alcohol each year, compared to 11.6 litres in Britain.

The country places 16th when it comes to wine consumption,not a surprise given that it’s one of the largest wine producers in the world and 10th for beer .

4. Visitors might spot Europe’s largest mammal

Tipping the scales at 1,400lbs, the European bison was nearly hunted to extinction, but in recent years has been reintroduced to several Eastern European countries, including Romania.

“We encountered a herd in a forest clearing near the village of Armenis, in the Tarcu range of the Carpathian Mountains,” wrote Mark Stratton for Telegraph Travel back in 2014 . “Staring towards us in docile fashion, tails metronomically swishing at flies, they were protectively encircling a newborn calf.

Beneath tassels of shaggy fur their powerful, beefy shoulders and bulbous humps elevated them from family saloon cow to V8 turbocharged bovine.”

The country also has Europe’s largest population of brown bears.

5. It’s the real home of Borat

In Sacha Baron Cohen’s film, scenes purporting to show Borat’s Kazakh hometown were shot in the village of Glod, Romania, while its Roma residents were cast as extras. Those same extras later took unsuccessful legal action claiming they were unaware of the film’s subject matter.

Other films shot in Romania include Cold Mountain and, er, Anaconda III starring David Hasselhoff.

6. Bucharest has one of the world’s prettiest bookshops

Cărturești Carusel opened in 2015 in a restored 19th century building. It contains more than 10,000 books, 5,000 albums and DVDs and a top floor bistro.

7. Its 4G network is the envy of the world

Romania is one of the best places in the world for 4G speed, occupying an impressive fourth place out of 78 nations, according to OpenSignal. Users in the country can expect speed of 35.61 Mbps, on average, compared to just 21.16Mbps in the UK.

8. The rail network is also impressive

Romania's 22,298km network is the 15th most extensive on Earth, even though it is only the world's 81st largest country in terms of total area.

9. There’s a dead ringer for the Arc de Triomphe

Who needs Paris? Bucharest has got its own.

10. And an answer to Mount Rushmore

This sculpture, on a rocky outcrop at the river Danube’s Iron Gates gorge, was made between 1994 and 2004 and depicts Decebalus, the last king of Dacia, who fought against the Roman Empire.

12. It also ripped off the Hollywood sign

Brasov and Rasnov have LA quaking in its boots.

13. It’s the surprising birthplace of good coffee

Francesco Illy, the founder of the Italian coffee roasting company, was actually born in Timișoara, Romania. He later moved to Vienna, and then the Italian city of Trieste. He didn’t make a 2006 list of the 100 Greatest Romanians, however, which was topped by Stephen the Great and featured the likes of Nadia Comăneci and Gheorghe Hagi.

14. They made the world’s largest flag

A five-ton flag that measured 349 metres by 227 metres, and used 44 miles of thread, was unfurled in Romania in 2013. Well, why not?

15. And can boast a few other quirky records

Romania was also responsible for the world’s longest sausage. How long? You wouldn’t believe us if we said 39 miles – but it’s true . It will take a determined butcher to break that record.

Guinness World Records also recognises the Chestnut Festival in Baia Mare, Romania, for creating the largest bowl of goulash (7,200 litres), and Romanian firm ING Asigurari de Viata for printing the world’s largest legal document (nine metres x six metres).

Best countries

16. They’ve invented plenty

And not just long sausages. Nicolae Paulescu discovered insulin (though two Canadian scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1923 for their studies on the hormone), Henri Coandă has been credited with inventing the modern jet engine, and Petrache Poenaru created the fountain pen.

The country has four Nobel prize laureates : George Emil Palade (medicine), Elie Wiesel (peace), Herta Müller (literature) and Stefan Hell (chemistry).

17. Its churches are spectacular

Romania has seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the eight churches of northern Moldavia, covered in wonderful frescos (the Voroneț Monastery has been dubbed Romania’s Sistine Chapel), and the wooden churches of Maramureş, of which there is also eight, including Sapanta Peri, which claims to be the tallest wooden church in the world.

18. And there’s one very strange cemetery

The Merry Cemetery in Sapanța eschews sombre memorials in favour of colourful tombstones.

INDONESIA: Kenya Among Indonesia’s Visa-free Partners In Travel Targeting 20 Million Tourists

Kenyans are free to travel to Indonesia without tourist visas, according to the latest directive issued by the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Indonesian government has offered visa-free travel for a group of countries including Kenya, hoping to pull in more numbers and boost its faltering tourism sector.

So far, tourists from 174 countries no longer need visas to enter the Asian nation. The latest group of countries offered the facility include Australia, Brazil, Ukraine, Kenya, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Palestine, Honduras, and Pakistan.

Others are Mongolia, Sierra Leone, Uruguay, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Costa Rica, Albania, Mozambique, Macedonia, El Salvador, Zambia, Moldova, Madagascar, Georgia, Namibia, Kiribati, Armenia, Bolivia, Bhutan, Guatemala, Mauritania, and Paraguay.

“Offering visa-free travel is one of the easiest ways to boost tourist numbers,” Indonesian Tourism minister Arief Yahya was quoted as saying by the country’s local media.

Indonesia is known for its volcanic islands and scenic beaches. The country hopes to chalk up 20 million foreign tourists in 2019, doubling the 2015 record.

Visa-free travel will only be available through five international airports in Jakarta, Medan, Batam, Bali and Surabaya, and would come with tighter monitoring to minimise misuse of the facility, an Indonesian government official has said, adding foreign tourists found smuggling illegal goods, such as drugs, would face serious penalties.

The country’s President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has repeatedly said the visa-free travel is offered to boost the country’s tourism industry.

Kenya and Indonesia enjoy cordial relations and have had diplomatic ties since 1982. Diplomatic ties between the two countries began in July 1979, and in April 1982 Indonesia opened an Embassy in Nairobi.

The Kenyan High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is accredited to Indonesia and In April, 2015 the Government of Kenya appointed Mr Bilal Asif as the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Kenya to Indonesia.

Foreign Affairs secretary Amina Mohamed said recently Kenya is seeking to forge a strong partnership with the two countries.

“Kenya considers Indonesia an important partner and has identified and expressed interest in opening a mission in your country. In the meantime, Mr Bilal Asif was appointed as the Honorary Consul of Kenya early last year and we hope that the Government of Indonesia is granting him the necessary support to carry out his mandate,” said Ms Mohamed.

She spoke in Nairobi during the farewell lunch in honour of Mr Sunu Soemarno, who was the outgoing Indonesian ambassador in early 2016. She said: “Kenya, like Indonesia, is outward looking to have a diversified and growing economy that creates a lot of opportunities. We look forward to the review of the JCC that was signed on 3rd December, 2008. I believe this will bring on board new areas for co-operation between Kenya and your great country.”

The countries have signed bilateral agreements for co-operation in various fields, notable among them the agreement on economic, scientific, technical and cultural co-operation signed in Nairobi on September 2, 1992, an MOU on establishment of Joint Commission signed on June 19, 2008.

The two nations also signed Agreed Minutes for Joint Commission for Co-operation signed on 3rd December, 2008 besides Bilateral Air Services Agreement signed in 2007 and an MoU on Fisheries Co-operation signed in 2009.

According to the Export Promotion Council, the bi-lateral trade between Kenya and Indonesia is heavily in favour of Indonesia, with the trade balance rising from $272.6 million in 2007 to $327.3 million in 2009 and $491.4 million in 2011.


Kenya’s exports to Indonesia amounted to $24.9 million and accounted for only 0.4 per cent of Kenya’s total exports in 2011.

The exports to Indonesia fluctuated over the period between 2007 and 2011 and the export products included soda ash, black tea, tobacco and products, sheep skin leather and dried leguminous vegetables. Imports from Indonesia amounted to $516.3 million in 2011 and accounted for 3.4 per cent of Kenya’s total imports.

The main import products include crude palm oil, industrial chemicals, refrigerator, yarns, natural rubber and paper and paperboard.

Sex Tourism Spreads And Booms

Portugal, Moldova and Ukraine in Europe, and Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam in Asia have emerged as new child sex tourism destinations, prompting activists to call for governments to include measures to protect children in their tourism plans.

Sex tourism has spread around the world to countries that were previously inaccessible as tourism has boomed over the past 20 years and travelling has become cheaper, said a study published on Thursday by global child protection network ECPAT.

The number of international tourists almost doubled from 527 million in 1995 to 1.14 billion in 2014, it said.

In Asia, Thailand´s efforts to clean up its image as a sex tourism destination and crack down on the crime, has had the unintended effect of pushing sex tourists to Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, it said.

In Europe, Moldova, Portugal and Ukraine have emerged as new sex tourism destinations.

"Many of these countries which are starting to open up - understandably they see tourism as a fantastic economic development sector," Mark Capaldi, ECPAT´s head of policy and research, said.

He said countries looking for economic opportunities from tourism often ignore the risks that some international tourists pose to children and lack the laws to protect them.

Countries need to assess the impact of tourism development projects from a child protection perspective before rushing into them, he said.

"It´s much more difficult to claw back and change the reputation of a place if it becomes seen as a hotbed of child sex tourism," Capaldi said in a phone interview.

The study said a lack of data makes it difficult to assess the scale of global child sex exploitation but the crime has outpaced attempts to curb it over the past two decades.

Capaldi said the growth in online bookings and private rental accommodation has contributed to the spread of sex tourism as this has made it easier for perpetrators to remain anonymous.

The study said children from minority groups, boys and young children are far more vulnerable to sex tourism than was previously thought, as are girls and children living in poverty.

Its recommendations include creating support systems for child victims of sex exploitation in all countries, curbing the online sale of children for sex, and creating systems to enable law enforcement agencies to share information about offenders.

Cheap Flights And Internet Encouraging Sex Tourism

Sex Tourism has “expanded” into new destinations across the world, claims a new report, which blames cheap flights and the Internet for creating a new generation of predators.

Opportunities for travellers to abuse women and children have “soared” in the past two decades, the Global Study on Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism said.

The report, which is considered the most comprehensive ever compiled on the sex tourism industry, also identifies countries which have emerged as new destinations for abusers.

These include Portugal, Moldova and the Ukraine in Europe, and also Burma, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia in Southeast Asia.

The report also said sex tourists are no longer being seen as wealthy, middle aged Westerners who travel to underdeveloped countries to seek children to abuse.

The UN-backed study says abusers are also often not tourists, but could be business travellers or expatriates who are ‘situational’ offenders, rather than paedophiles.

The study says the growth in opportunities for the abuse of children and women is directly linked to the boom in travel and the wider use of the Internet.

“The vulnerability of children has increased dramatically in the past 20 years as travel, tourism soared,” the report said.

“Although the precise scope is not yet measurable, there are alarming indicators that this crime is persistent and widespread.

“The Global Study has also demonstrated, undeniably, that the increasing use
 of the Internet has enabled offenders to groom children online, exchange information and advice on how to abuse children and avoid detection, and in some cases ‘book’ children in advance.”

The report, which was released by global child protection network ECPAT, charts the increase in sex tourism over the last two decades.

It was compiled with information from more than 70 global child protection agencies.

“Twenty years ago the offender was seen as a white, wealthy, middle-aged male peadophile from a developed country vacationing in a developing country with the intention of having sex with a child,” it adds.

“Now we understand that more children are being abused by tourists and travellers from their own country or region than by people who have travelled
 from other parts of the world.”

The report notes, for example, that Japanese, Chinese and South Korean tourists are now more likely to be offenders in Southeast Asia – a traditional sex tourism hotspot – because they travel through the region more regularly than Westerners.

The number of international tourists almost doubled from 527 million in 1995 to 1.14 billion in 2014, the report said.

“Despite 20 years of efforts, the sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism has expanded across the globe and out-paced every attempt to respond at the international and national level,” it added.

IATA Happy With Fewer Plane Accidents

Last year, more than 3.5 billion people flew safely on 37.6 million flights worldwide, of which 31.4 million flew by jet and 6.2 million by turboprop.

The airline industry registered a total of 136 fatalities in 2015, versus 641 fatalities in 2014. The five-year average came up to 504 killed. Including those who lost their lives in Germanwings 9525 and Metrojet 9268, last year averaged 510 fatalities.

Overall, the airline industry registered one major accident for every 3.1 million flights worldwide in 2015 – a hull loss of 0.32 per cent per million flights – not as good as the 2014 rate of 0.27 but a 30% improvement compared to the previous five-year (2010-2014) rate of 0.46 hull loss accidents per million jet flights.

This was the data which the International Air Transport Association (IATA) released yesterday on the safety performance of the commercial airline industry last year.

“In terms of the number of fatal accidents, 2015 was an extraordinarily safe year,” remarked, IATA’s Director General and CEO Tony Tyler.

Last year, four accidents resulted in passenger fatalities, all of which involved turboprop aircraft, with 136 killed. This compares with an average of 17.6 fatal accidents and 504 fatalities per year in the previous five-year period (2010-2014).

The 2015 jet hull loss rate for members of IATA was 0.22, or one accident for every 4.5 million flights, which outperformed the global rate by 31% and which was in line with the five-year rate (2010-2014) of 0.21 per million flights but above the 0.12 hull loss rate achieved in 2014.

The loss of Germanwings 9525 due to pilot suicide and Metrojet 9268 due to suspected terrorism resulted in the deaths of 374 passengers and crew. However, they were not included in the accident statistics as they are classified as deliberate acts of unlawful interference.

Accidents are gathered using multiple sources and validated and classified by the Accident Classification Task Force (ACTF). The task force is comprised of industry safety experts and managed by IATA.

All regions, except North America, saw their safety performance improve in 2015 compared to the respective five-year rate 2010-2014. Africa registered 3.49 jet hull loss compared to a five-year rate of 3.69.

Asia Pacific recorded a 0.21 jet hull loss from 0.56 in the comparative period, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) composed of ten former Soviet Republics–Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan, registered 1.88 compared to 3.14 before; Europe, 0.15 versus 0.18; Latin America and the Caribbean, 0.39 compared to 0.92; Middle East-North Africa, zero versus 1.00; North America, 0.32 compared to 0.13 and North Asia, 0.00 compared to a 0.06

HUNGARY: Wizz Air Launches Three New Routes

José Angel Lopez Jorrin, Ambassador of Spain in Hungary, and Kam Jandu, Chief Commercial Officer, Budapest Airport, along with a Wizz Air crew member, present the cake at the launch of services to Tenerife South from Budapest on 30 October. The twice-weekly link will operate on Mondays and Fridays.

Wizz Air launched three new routes over the course of last week, starting on 27 October with services between London Luton (LTN) and Chisinau (KIV) in Moldova, a city pair which will operate thrice-weekly.

On 29 October, the LCC then commenced operations between Bucharest (OTP) and Pescara (PSR) in Italy. The 988-kilometre airport pairing will be served twice-weekly on Thursdays and Sundays.

Finally, on 30 October, Wizz Air launched flights between Budapest (BUD) and Tenerife South (TFS). Services between the Hungarian capital and the Spanish island will also be flown twice-weekly on Mondays and Fridays.

All three of the new routes will be flown by the airline’s A320s, with none facing any incumbent carriers.

UKRAINE: Odessa Leads Ukrainian Traffic Recovery

The shape of things to come. Odessa International Airport’s new terminal is scheduled to open during the second quarter of 2016 in time for the peak summer season. It will be able to handle 1,000 passengers per hour and an estimated 2.5 million per annum, with 26 check-in desks and four airbridges.

Located in the south-west corner of Ukraine, close to the border with Moldova, and nearer to Chisinau (150 kilometres) and Bucharest (410 kilometres) than it is to the capital Kiev (440 kilometres), Odessa is Ukraine’s third biggest city with a population of over one million people. Located on the Black Sea it is a centre for culture, industry science and tourism.

Odessa International Airport, which handled over one million passengers in 2013, is currently constructing a new terminal which should be ready for use by the middle of next year. In the space of a decade, between 2003 and 2013, passenger numbers at the airport increased fourfold.

However, developments in the political situation in Ukraine last year resulted in the airport seeing a near 20% drop in passenger numbers to 860,000.

However, in 2015 demand has recovered well, with passenger numbers at a level between those seen in 2012 and the airport’s record year of 2013. According to the airport, it expects to handle around 935,000 passengers in 2015. Whereas across all Ukrainian airports passenger numbers in July 2015 were up a modest 3.8% compared with July 2014, Odessa’s demand was up 32.5%, the most of any Ukrainian airport. A similar analysis for the first seven months of 2015 shows that while total Ukrainian airport traffic is down 3.8% to 5.78 million, Odessa’s traffic is up 6.6% to 534,000.


On 1 July, Georgian Airways launched twice-weekly flights from Tbilisi to Odessa using a mix of its CRJ 200s and 737-500s. There was some traditional dancing on the apron to help mark the occasion.

Based on 2013 data the airport’s SVID score comes out at 10.48 (“poor”) with the peak demand month of August generating more than twice as many passengers as the airport handles in the early part of the year (January to March).
Moscow, Kiev and Istanbul are busiest routes

The airport’s leading routes at this time of year are Moscow, Kiev and Istanbul Atatürk. All of these can be used as hubs to connect on to many other destinations with Aeroflot, Ukraine International Airlines and Turkish Airlines respectively. Other major hubs served include Dubai (twice-weekly by flydubai), Vienna (four times weekly by Austrian Airlines) and Warsaw (six times weekly by LOT Polish Airlines). According to the airport’s flight schedules page on its website, Antalya would appear to be the most popular leisure destination with services provided by Ukraine International Airlines, UTair Ukraine and Wind Rose.



Austrian Airlines returned to Odessa after a five-year absence at the start of the summer 2015 season, operating four weekly flights from Vienna with its Fokker jets. Austrian, Ellinair (from Thessaloniki) and LOT Polish Airlines (from Warsaw) are the only carriers currently serving Odessa from airports in the EU.

Odessa governor wants liberalisation of air services
The recent appointment of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili as governor of Odessa has seen him make aviation development a priority. He has been a major reason for resuming the once frozen terminal construction project, and also Saakashvili has been outspoken on the importance of establishing an Open Skies agreement for Odessa to help generate an increase in inbound tourism and bringing low-cost carriers to the market. At present, tourism only accounts for one to one and a half percent of the region’s economy, which he believes could be greatly increased with a more liberal approach to air service development.