Azernews.Az

By Gulgiz Dadashova

Azerbaijan remains on the path to become one of the primary tourist destinations in Europe, Culture and Tourism Minister Abulfaz Garayev has said.

Garayev made the statement in an interview with Huffington Post when speaking about the great events the country has recently hosted and more events and tourism planned in the future.

The minister said that 2012 was marked with very significant developments for travel and tourism in Azerbaijan.

"As you all know, Azerbaijan hosted two major international events past year - Eurovision 2012 and U-17 FIFA Women's Football World Cup," Garayev said. "According to feedback we have from the organizers both events were organized and implemented successfully. Members of teams, coaches, performers, journalists from all over Europe and the world were quite impressed by the capital Baku and the country. It helped to maintain the positive trend of tourist arrivals, as there were some worries on our side that tourist flows might decline in 2012 from Europe and some other parts of the world due to economic and financial crisis."

The Eurovision Song Contest - annual competition held among many of the active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) since 1956 to determine the best song of Europe - took place in Baku in May 2012. "Lighting its fire" in the Baku Crystal Hall that amazed the city's guests with its original architecture and grandiose lighting system, the Eurovision 2012 allowed millions of viewers to enjoy memorable music and the fantastic atmosphere of Azerbaijan. Visitors praised the hospitality, people's kindness, Baku's lights, the old and new architecture, as well as cultural traditions and national cuisine.

The Azerbaijani capital also acted as the main host city of the first-ever FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Europe. The 2012 Women's World Cup was the third edition of women's football tournament and was held in Baku from September 22 to October 13, following a decision by the Executive Committee on March 19, 2010. Alongside women's football giants such as USA, Germany, Brazil and Japan, there were several newcomers as Gambia, China, Uruguay and hosts Azerbaijan, all making their tournament debuts. One of the remarkable features of the tournament was that international superstars Jennifer Lopez and Shakira performed in the opening and closing ceremonies at the Tofig Bahramov Stadium in Baku.

According to Garayev, these major events and many other important undertakings helped significantly to show tourism opportunities for international travelers.

"We want to open up more to international tourists," Garayev said. "Eurovision 2012 showed that Azerbaijan is a very hospitable and tourist friendly country. We want travelers to explore not only the capital Baku, but also many beautiful regions of Azerbaijan. Regions of Azerbaijan have a lot to see and explore. Azerbaijan is a nice place to visit not only in summer or spring, but also in autumn and winter. For this we are developing the Shahdag skiing resort to cover the winter tourism side, with opening of first two hotels planned in the nearest future."

The Shahdag winter and summer sports and tourist complex in Azerbaijan will receive 10,000 tourists daily after the completion of its construction, Garayev said earlier.

The Shahdag Winter and Summer Tourism Complex is the first alpine skiing resort in the history of Azerbaijan. The project on the Shahdag ski resort was developed by Swiss and Austrian specialists and its construction started in September 2009. The facility is located 1,300-2,300 meters above sea level in the Shahdag National Park, 32 km from the center of Gusar, northern Azerbaijan.

The priority is creation of infrastructure for winter sports: 21 rope-ways of various length have been laid. Elevators with closed mono-gondolas for six to eight persons and also chair lifts for skiers' transportation to the top of the ski tracks with full accoutrements are available there.

The ski tracks are designed with various degrees of complexity -- for professionals, beginners and children. Special equipment for artificial snowmaking was placed along the tracks. Such installations are available in all major winter resorts of the world and make it possible to keep ski tracks open throughout the winter irrespective of precipitation.

Tennis courts, football and basketball pitches, covered sporting facilities, an aqua park and pools, entertainment and gaming facilities are part of the complex; hikes, horse trips and climbing are offered as well.