Officials, businesspeople mull tourism development
By Nigar Orujova
Discussions on tourism development joined by government officials and business representatives were held on Monday in the Azerbaijani capital Baku.
The third enlarged "Development of tourism field in Azerbaijan" session of the Caspian-European Tourism Club took place under the chairmanship of Aydin Ismiyev, head of the tourism department of the Azerbaijani Culture and Tourism Ministry.
The Caspian-European Tourism Club is a branch association functioning within the Caspian-European Integration Business Club (CEIBC).
CEIBC is the largest and dynamically developing regional organization that brings together over 500 member companies and organizations from 50 countries around the world operating or planning to work in the Caspian, Black Sea and Baltic regions.
Aydin Ismiyev spoke about the work the ministry has been doing for tourism development in Azerbaijan.
The implementation of tourism projects was discussed at the meeting.
According to Ismiyev, the peak inflow of tourists to Azerbaijan is observed in summer while a decline is observed throughout the rest of the year. Therefore, it is necessary to develop projects so that tourists could arrive in Azerbaijan all year round, he noted.
He also stressed the ongoing construction of a skiing resort in Shahdagh that will increase the number of tourists in winter.
Ismiyev emphasized that four and five star hotels built in Azerbaijan will fully meet the demand of the country for the coming years.
Meanwhile, he connected high prices charged in the country's hotels with the number of hotels. Prices are formed on the basis of competitiveness: if the number of hotels in some region enlarges, the prices will go down as well, Ismiyev said.
"Now there is a need for construction of three-star hotels which would provide services both in Baku and in the regions of the country," he added.
Businessmen prefer to build high-class hotels in the regions, said Ismiyev, but "today we recommend them to build three-star hotels as well for the middle class tourists."
According to Ismiyev, there are 508 hotels in the country, and 70 percent of them have relevant licenses. Other hotels cannot obtain licenses because of a lack of some documents.
The importance attached to the personnel affairs was also emphasized during the session.
Addressing the meeting, Telman Aliyev, President and CEO of the Caspian-European Integration Business Club, noted that Caspian Energy International Media Group and CEIBC are about to commence the implementation of the Caspian Energy Club project.
Caspian Energy Club is a multi-level discount program which will operate in 50 countries worldwide, provide discounts and other privileges. According to Aliyev, it will be an additional incentive for attraction of tourists.
The CEIBC meeting was attended by executives of companies, representatives of the diplomatic missions of Ukraine, Bulgaria, Latvia, Hungary and other countries.
CEIBC was established in June 2002 under an active support of Caspian Energy International Media Group and major oil and gas companies operating in the Caspian and Black Sea regions. Since its inception CEIBC has been promoting directing oil industry revenues to the development of the non-oil sector.
CEIBC strives to maintain dialogue between government agencies and the private sector. Branch clubs operate within CEIBC. Caspian-European Tourism Club, which brings problems facing the tourism sector to the attention of state bodies, is one of the active participants of CEIBC. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has been honorary chairman of CEIBC since 2002.