TASHKENT, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has signed a decree to offer 30-day visa-free travel for tourists from 45 more countries.

The decree, which will come into effect on Feb. 1, is part of the measures taken by the government to boost tourism. The government's aim is to attract more than 9 million foreign tourists in 2025 and increase the share of the tourism industry in the GDP from 2.3 percent in 2017 to 5 percent in 2025.

The list of countries eligible for Uzbekistan's e-visa system will also expand to 76 countries from Feb. 1. In addition, 30-day double- and multiple-entry e-visas will be introduced from March 15.

Uzbekistan will also offer new types of visas, including the student visa, the academic visa and the medical visa, for certain groups of foreign citizens.

According to the state tourism committee, the number of visitors to Uzbekistan hit 5.3 million in 2018, nearly doubling that of 2017.

Uzbekistan offers 30-day visa-free entry to citizens of Israel, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Turkey and Japan, and allows mutual visa-free travel with members of the Commonwealth of Independent States, a regional association of former Soviet republics.