Azerbaijan attracts more tourists by holding grand events
By Rashid Shirinov
It is well known that grand events bring many benefits to the host country, the main one of which is the increase of the country’s attractiveness for tourists. Today Azerbaijan, which has invested in this, enjoys millions of tourists every year. The last great event organized by the country was the 2018 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
This event gathered both F1 fans and ordinary tourists together in the country’s capital Baku. This year the Grand Prix of Azerbaijan was visited by 94,000 foreign and local visitors, which means 31 percent more viewers compared to last year.
Witnesses of one of the most exciting races of the current season were guests from 78 countries, totalling a little less than a quarter of all ticket sales for the Grand Prix of Azerbaijan.
In particular, Russian tourists love to travel to Azerbaijan on the F1 weekend. This was seen last year, when visitors from Russia were first among foreign tourists who came to Baku for the 2017 Grand Prix.
This year’s race also attracted many Russian tourists, according to TourStat analytical agency. Its ranking shows that Formula 1 in Baku was the only event outside Russia that entered the Top 10 events Russians chose to visit for their spring holidays.
“Baku is a great place for holding Formula 1, which cannot leave tourists indifferent,” Russian visitor Andrey Matsievsky told reporters in Baku. “This is my first visit to Baku, and I want to say that this is a wonderful, sincere city, which welcomes its guests very warmly.”
He also noted the high professionalism of the Formula 1 Baku organizers: “I can say that the race and entertainment program are organized at a very high level, which is very important in terms of attraction of tourists.”
A UK tourist Patrick Keating, in turn, noted that the organization of Formula 1 competitions in Baku is getting better and better every year. He added that he was happy to watch the races, accompanied with the colorful entertainment program.
The successful holding of such great events has turned Azerbaijan into a country recognizable by everyone in the world, and a country that many foreigners wish to visit as soon as possible. Export Review of Azerbaijan’s Center for Economic Reforms Analysis and Communication says that as many as 629,400 foreigners from 151 countries and stateless persons arrived in the country in the first quarter of 2018. This is 12.4 percent more compared to the same period last year.
It is noteworthy that the number of foreign nationals who arrived in Azerbaijan last year increased by 449,215 people or 20 percent compared to 2016, hitting the figure of 2,691,998 people.
Meanwhile, the State Statistical Committee informs that tourists prefer to stay in hotels of Baku, Gabala and Gusar. As many as 586,000 tourists have stayed in Azerbaijani hotels from the beginning of the year so far, and this exceeds the figure for the same period last year by 24 percent.
There is no doubt that the rise in the number of tourists visiting this wonderful South Caucasus country will intensify even more in the near future, and there is every reason to believe that the figure will hit 3 million by year end.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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