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Azerbaijan to further boost tourism

10 September 2015 16:17 (UTC+04:00)
Azerbaijan to further boost tourism

By Nigar Orujova

The summer and holiday season have moved on and many countries have begun to anticipate the return of the tourism season.

Azerbaijan made this summer historic by hosting the grand international event-- Baku 2015 European Games-- that attracted over 28,000 foreign tourists mostly from Russia, UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, the US, and the United Arab Emirates in the 17 days of competition.

About one million tourists visited Azerbaijan in the first eight months of this year, which is 10 percent less than the same period last year, said Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Nazim Samadov on September 9.

This decline is connected to a decrease in the number of tourists coming from Russia and Georgia, he added.

Over 2 million tourists came to Azerbaijan last year, which amounted to about one billion manat (over $950,000 million) in revenue from tourism. In the near future, the country is expected to increase its tourist flow up to 5 million a year.

He said Azerbaijan seems specifically attractive for mainly for tourists from Russia, Turkey, Georgia and Iran, who make 95 percent of Azerbaijan’s tourist base. “The economic difficulties in the neighboring countries affect the number of tourists. For instance, the number of tourists from Russia fell by about 87,000.”

However, Samadov highlighted the growth of tourist flow from Europe, the Gulf countries, and even Africa.

Specific proposals for the construction of two and three-star hotels, visa simplification, and a drop in the prices of airline tickets, have been prepared and forwarded to the relevant structures based on the orders of the Azerbaijani president on the development of tourism, he said.

The Deputy Minister noted that in many countries of the world with developed tourism sectors, entrepreneurs provided with tax breaks.

“Perhaps it is the time to apply it in our country as well. Air ticket prices have dropped, and this also affected vacation packages. At the same time, the Cabinet of Ministers introduced the ‘Rules of visa accreditation by tourism companies’ for issuing visas. By now, 65 tourism companies have already got this right. We believe that this will create the conditions for the arrival of a large number of tourists to Azerbaijan,” Samadov said.

He added that proposals prepared for the issuance of visas are based on international experience, and submitted to the Foreign Ministry. The entrepreneurs, taking into account the suggestions and recommendations of the Ministry, have lowered the prices.

Tourists going to Azerbaijan in 2005-2015 have spent a total of 1.3 billion manat, said Samadov.

He noted that in this period, the number of tourists rose from 1.1 million to 2.3 million people. “The number of hotels has increased from 262 to 535, the number of travel agencies from 197 to 286. At present, 42,000 people are engaged in the tourism sector. The share of tourism in GDP is 4.1 percent.”

Tourist sites play an important role in Azerbaijan’s popularity, said Muzaffar Agakerimov, the deputy chairman of the Azerbaijan Tourism Association.

“Our hotels and other tourist facilities should conduct an extensive campaign to promote the country as a whole, including the national cuisine,” he added.

He believes that the events held in Azerbaijan attract a large number of tourists. “Every tourist in the first place wants to get acquainted with the national cuisine of Azerbaijan. Therefore, we made a proposal to present dishes of Azerbaijani cuisine, and local wines and mineral waters in hotels for foreign guests,” he said.

Honey is one of the products that needed to be promoted, he added.

The beautiful nature of Azerbaijan and its ancient history, along with its mesmerizing art, attracts more tourists each year.

Currently, the country can accommodate over 35,000 tourists in its 530 hotels. The good news here is that prices in tourism areas are not expected to increase this year despite global economic stagnation.

The economic crisis may make the country more attractive for budget tourists of the CIS, who would prefer to see a mixture of the East and West in one destination, namely Azerbaijan.

Despite the economic situation, Azerbaijan is now preparing for such global events as the Formula 1 race in 2016, Islamic Solidarity Games in 2017, and quarterfinals and three group games of the Euro 2020. These competitions are sure to attract more tourists from around the world.

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Nigar Orujova is AzerNews’s staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @o_nigar

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

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