Tourists spend more money than in previous years
By Amina Nazarli
The number of tourists heading to Azerbaijan is growing from year to year, said Culture and Tourism Minister Abulfaz Garayev when visiting a number of cultural sites in ancient region of Azerbaijan, Sheki.
Azerbaijan is a gem between Europe and Asia and a place you will not regret visiting. This amazing country, also called the Land of Fire, is located in the South Caucasus region and has unspoiled natural beauty to complement its unique culture.
Today tourism is developing with high speed in Azerbaijan, with a contribution of 4.5 percent to the national GDP. The country witnesses more than 2 million annual foreign tourist arrivals and thousands of domestic tourism visits.
Speaking of tourists it is impossible to avoid security issues.
Garayev said that the security of tourists coming to Azerbaijan
ensured by the state authorities.
“Today, the security of tourists in Azerbaijan is provided not only
by the Culture and Tourism Ministry, but generally by the state
authorities. This issue is under strict control from the entrance
of tourists to the country to the exit,” he said.
Garayev emphasized the importance of strengthening control over this field by the government. “The new draft law stipulates strengthening of control on tourism facilities. The implementation will begin after the adoption of this law,” he said.
Now tourism is the sphere that is ready to generate more income to the country. Foreign tourists also bring foreign currency to Azerbaijan.
Bank card transactions of the foreigners arriving in Azerbaijan increased by 93 percent (about $300 million) compared to the same period last year.
The overall turnover of tourism services by Azerbaijan in 2016 was $ 2.8 billion, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.
The figure for six months shows an increase in the number of visitors by almost a 25-percent, according to the Culture and Tourism Ministry. The country welcomed 1,199,667 guests in the first six months of the year.
The majority of tourists came from Russia, Arab countries, Georgia, Turkey and Iran.
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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli
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