The SCO countries declared 2023 the Year of Tourism, and Varanasi - the cultural capital

The member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) have declared 2023 the Year of Tourism. This is stated in the declaration drawn up following the results of the organization's summit in Samarkand.

The decision to declare 2023 the Year of Tourism was made "in order to support the tourism industry and increase the tourist attractiveness of cities and regions in the SCO space."

In addition, "in order to further promote the rich cultural and historical heritage of the peoples and the tourist potential of the SCO member states, it was decided to declare the Indian city of Varanasi the tourist and cultural capital of the organization in 2022-2023."