State register of tourism can appear in Azerbaijan this year
By Rashid Shirinov
The state register of tourism can appear in Azerbaijan in 2018, Ruslan Guliyev, Chairman of the Association for Support to Health and Thermal Tourism in Azerbaijan and President of the Global Healthcare Travel Council, told journalists on April 10.
He noted that the creation of the register will help improve coordination in this area as well as facilitate the monitoring and control over the activities of tourism entities.
“The creation of the register will in no case contribute to bureaucratic obstacles. The collected statistics will help us coordinate the activities in this area more rationally in the future,” Guliyev said.
The tourism register is being created based on the order of President Ilham Aliyev dated September 1, 2016, with the aim of developing tourism in Azerbaijan and expanding the possibilities of using modern information and communication technologies in this sphere.
Companies and tourist facilities will be able to enter information about themselves in the register. Culture and Tourism Ministry together with the relevant public structures, in turn, will check the information posted in the system by companies, hotels or people.
Companies included in the register will also be involved in all international events as well as education and service improvement programs.
Thanks to the wonderful climate of Azerbaijan, its culture, cuisine, nature, attractions, and diversity, more and more tourists visit the country every year. Also, hospitality of Azerbaijani people, the capital with its super modern and ancient buildings draw the attention of all tourists visiting this South Caucasian country. The tourists mainly visit the most popular destinations – Baku, Gabala, Guba and many other cities.
As for the tourism infrastructure, today Azerbaijan can accommodate about 40,000 tourists in its 575 hotels, which include a series of luxury ones – Excelsior, Hilton, Four Seasons, Fairmont, JW Marriott – as well as several budget hotels for cost-conscious travelers. Moreover, 25 hostels and 92 apartments for tourists operate in Baku.
The number of foreign nationals who arrived in Azerbaijan last year increased by 449,215 people or 20 percent compared to 2016, hitting the figure of 2,691,998 people.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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