Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

The 16th Azerbaijan International Travel and Tourism Fair AITF 2017 and HOREX Caucasus-2017 International Hospitality Exhibition opened at the Baku Expo Center on April 6.

The annual Azerbaijan International Tourism and Travel Exhibition AITF 2017 to be last until April 8 features 17 national stands. This 16th exhibition once again brings together representatives of the tourism world, government institutions, national and regional tourism organizations.

Representatives of the national tourism market and 22 countries offer visitors 90 tourist destinations both inside Azerbaijan and abroad.

President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva viewed the exhibition.

In his opening remarks Culture and Tourism Minister Abulfaz Garayev said that AITF is the largest exhibition of the region.

“Unlike last year, this year’s exhibition is more targeted and enriched on the basis of appeals, as the tourism industry has taken a new path of development in Azerbaijan,” he said.

The exhibition could attract the attention of world community. "The 4th Islamic Solidarity Games, Formula 1, as well as Baku Shopping Festival to be held in the capital will give impetus for the development of tourism in Azerbaijan," he said.

Tourism is one of the most promising sectors for the economy. The attention paid to the tourism industry and in particular, to this exhibition by the country’s leadership gives an additional impetus to the development of business relations in the tourism field.

The development of the tourism sector was positively affected by the simplification of the visa regime, the adoption of the program of the Strategic Roadmap and the development of other documents aimed at increasing tourist flows. As a result, the sphere of tourism has become the leading branch of the non-oil sector in Azerbaijan.

This year the exhibition presents a variety of destinations, airlines, hotel chains and other tourism services. Among the participants there are companies from Azerbaijan, Italy, Switzerland and many other countries. Traditionally, the exhibition is attended by national and regional stands. Such countries as Belarus, Bulgaria, Dominican Republic, Georgia, Morocco, Thailand, Turkey and the Czech Republic participate with a national stand.

Every year new participants join the exhibition, and Colombia and Cuba for the first time present their tourism opportunities at this Azerbaijani exhibition with the support of the Embassy of Colombia and Cuba. Among the foreign newcomers there are holiday companies from Italy, China and the UK.

The exhibition hosts a workshop allowing to establish business contacts with representatives of leading local tour companies and to hold direct talks without intermediaries. This has been set up at the request of our local travel agencies to encourage collaboration between them and the exhibitors.

Thus, the AITF exhibition offers an excellent platform for reaching various business goals and announcing new tourist products. It serves as a meeting point for partners and to build strong business relationships. AITF take place alongside the 11th Caucasus International Hospitality Exhibition Horex Caucasus 2017 which is the only specialized hotel and restaurant industry exhibition in the region.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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