Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

The renewed hostilities on the contact line of Armenian and Azerbaijani troops did not lead to reduction of tourist flow to Azerbaijan.

Culture and Tourism Minister Abulfaz Garayev announced about this at the opening ceremony of the 15^th International Tourism Exhibition on April 7.

“The ministry carried out a study, which revealed that Azerbaijan’s tourism industry is continuing to work successfully and stably. No decline has been observed in the number of tourists coming to Azerbaijan," he said.

The minister further emphasized that Azerbaijan is a safe country for tourists.

“Azerbaijan is the safest, most hospitable and most cost-competitive tourist destination. Nothing can distract Azerbaijan from tourism development. The guests in Azerbaijan have always been treated with respect,” Garayev added.

Chairman of the Azerbaijan Tourism Association, Nahid Bagirov also agreed that the current situation on the front did not affect the interest of tourists in Azerbaijan.

He said that the association has not faced with any failures and cancellation of the reservation, so far. “Even if there were any cases, it was of single nature,” he stressed.

Foreign tour operators send an inquiry over the latest developments on the frontline. “They were concerned about the current situation. However, we explained that there is no reason for that and tourists can visit Azerbaijan without fear,” Bagirov said.

Long-simmering tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan on Nagorno-Karabakh started since 1988, flared again on April 2 when the Armenian side began to shell the Azerbaijani positions and settlements along the frontline. The sides agreed on ceasefire on April 5.

The tensions in the Nagorno-Karabakh are not expected to impact activities scheduled for this year, in particular Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe to be held for the first time in Baku this summer.

Nigar Arpadarai, Head of Marketing and Communications at Baku City Circuit stated that the fighting operations in the Nagorno-Karabakh will not affect the holding of this year’s major race.

“Everything is running in accordance with the plan. The situation will not affect the race,” she said.

The eighth round of the FIA Formula One World Championship in Baku, with a length slightly over six kilometers as an anti-clockwise layout, is scheduled for June 17-19.

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

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