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Nigar Hasanova

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The experience of organizing business conferences and international sports events, which are relevant to the tourism sector strategy of Azerbaijan, is increasing day by day. This experience has also had a positive effect on the increase of income from tourism in the country. For example, in the past three quarters of 2023, the turnover of mutual tourism services in Azerbaijan reached 49.4% and amounted to 2.0 billion dollars. This is stated in the balance of payments of the Azerbaijan Republic at the end of 9 months of 2023. It was noted that during the reporting period, a surplus of 0.2 billion dollars was created as a result of the export of tourism services (1.1 billion dollars) exceeding the import (0.9 billion dollars). During this period, the number of Azerbaijani citizens traveling abroad increased by 24.7%, and the number of foreign citizens visiting Azerbaijan increased by 32.1%. The expansion of tourists in Azerbaijan has been achieved through following the step-by-step planned strategy.

As a first step, to attract more tourists to Azerbaijan, the government simplified the visa regime, creating the “ASAN” Visa System to process electronic visas within three days of application (three hours with payment of an expedited fee) for citizens of eligible countries, including the United States. A February 2017 presidential decree created “fast-track” routes, including adding ASAN payment and visa terminals for entry to Azerbaijan at border checkpoints from the bordering countries, including Georgia, Iran, Russia, and Türkiye. In 2018, the Ministry of Culture created an independent State Tourism Agency to improve state governance in the relevant sector.

The second component attracting travelers' attention in this achievement is event tourism. Since 2012, Azerbaijan has focused on the development of the event tourism industry. That year, the country hosted the Eurovision Song Contest and FIFA’s U-17 Women’s World Cup. In 2015, Azerbaijan hosted the first-ever European Games and in 2016, Baku began hosting annual Formula One Grand Prix events at the Baku City Circuit, and the contract was renewed in 2023. Azerbaijan hosted the Islamic Solidarity Games in May 2017. Moreover, in 2021, Baku hosted multiple matches for the UEFA soccer championship. This year it hosted the 74th International Astronautical Congress in October 2023. In 2024, Azerbaijan is looking to host the International Nomad Games.

These events play a key role in tourism as it is one of the most developing branches and has become more popular in tourist destinations as a tool for the revival of the local economy. The events and festivals are used with great success in many areas as a tool for attracting tourists, whose trips depend on the season. The exactly defined even duration encourages the visitors to see regions, which otherwise they would not attend. These new tourists bring with them profit, diversification of the market, and enhancement of profit. Its special attractiveness is due to the desire for a different experience, which comes from the uniqueness of the event, which on the other side makes it different from other places with permanent attractions.

What are the tourism industry's long-term goals?

On December 8, 2022, the country hosted the "Azerbaijan Tourism Summit 2022" organized under the organization of the State Tourism Agency (DTA) and the Azerbaijan Tourism Bureau to discuss development trends in the field of tourism, including marketing, regional development, and tourism policy issues.

Speaking about the importance of the summit and the achievements in the tourism sector, the Chairman of the State Tourism Agency, Fuad Nagiyev, said that the main goal was to increase the number of foreigners visiting Azerbaijan to 4 million in 2026. According to the Agency head, the goal for the next four years is to increase the volume of production of the gross domestic product in the tourist accommodation and public catering sector by 1.5 times compared to 2019, to achieve an average annual growth of 20 percent in the tourism sector. He said that increasing the number of local tourists in the country to 6 million and turning Azerbaijan as a whole into a sustainable and accessible tourism destination was among the priority goals. It was noted that targets for 10 main directions aimed at the comprehensive development of tourism have been defined. These goals are directed to the implementation of the tasks provided for in the "Socio-economic Development Strategy of Azerbaijan in 2022-2026".

Fuad Naghiyev also mentioned the multi-directional measures implemented to study, realize, and promote the tourism potential of the territories liberated by the heroic Azerbaijan Army under the leadership of the President Ilham Aliyev, stressed that tourism will be one of the leading areas to ensure the livelihood of people in Garabagh and East Zangezur.

Fuad Naghiyev also mentioned the multi-directional measures implemented to study, realize, and promote the tourism potential of the territories liberated by the heroic Azerbaijan Army led by President Ilham Aliyev, emphasizing that tourism will be one of the leading areas to ensure people's livelihood in Garabagh and East Zangazur.

As we witness this year's growth and accomplishments, we can confidently predict that Azerbaijan will be able to meet its 2026 targets with the current strategy. The success of this year's tourist activities has been built in large part on the collaboration of various agencies with the government, which has yielded positive outcomes. The growing number of tourists can have a variety of effects on the economic, social, and ecological spheres of the place of performance. It should also be highlighted the successful implementation of the procedures outlined in 2022 for the establishment of tourist destinations in Garabagh and East Zangazur would increase the number of tourists in the future. The mentioned steps have both economic and social advantages for tourism, in case they are well-implemented for providing a permanent unique, and positive experience for the visitors which is the actual case for Azerbaijan.

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