Hotel capacity increases in Azerbaijan
By Nigar Orujova
Azerbaijan's tourism sector has experienced an investment boom in the past decade and hotel capacity has increased by over 2.5 times.
The number of hotels has reached 520, and the process continues, head of the Azerbaijan Tourism Association Nahid Bagirov told Russian media.
"No less than three new facilities, hotels, boarding houses, and sanatoriums are put into operation each month. This is more than enough to meet domestic needs. At the same time, if we focus on the prospect of an annual increase in the flow of tourists from former Soviet states and other countries, not only an increase in hotel capacity, but also qualitative changes in its structure are required," he said.
Bagirov particularly pointed to a shortage of three- and four-star hotels in the country in which the level and cost of service would be designed to accommodate the middle class.
The share of the latter in the total tourist flow is 70 percent. For example, in Europe where competition is very tight in the budget segment, accommodation in three- and four-star hotels costs about €50-70 per night, he said.
"The effectiveness of the competitive factor may be illustrated by the positive changes in the hospitality sector in Baku, where there were only a few high-class five-star hotels recently. Accordingly, the prices for accommodation were very high, on average starting from €300 per night. By attracting the world's leading hotel brands and constructing eight luxury hotels in 2011-2013 in the capital has radically changed the situation," he said.
After a double decline the cost of living in five-star hotels in the capital at present starts from 120-150 euros, which is corresponding to the global trends, Bagirov said.
Azerbaijan is enlarging its tourism capacities year by year. There are currently 530 hotels and hotel-type facilities in the country and some 241 travel agencies.
The number of tourists who visited Azerbaijan in 2013 reached 2.4 million, and they spent some $700-800 a week on accommodations, food, and cultural programs.
Moreover, the reconstruction of health centers in Azerbaijan continues. Head of the Azerbaijan Trade Unions Confederation Sattar Mehbaliyev has said that reconstruction works are underway in all the health resorts in Azerbaijan, and about two million manats were allocated for these purposes.
Medical and kitchen equipment has already been replaced at the health centers, he said.
"We are mobilizing all facilities to create the conditions for people who want to rest and whose number is growing every year. Last year, health centers hosted more than 50 thousand people through the confederation," he said.