Over 50,000 Azerbaijani tourists visited Turkey in February
By Leman Mammadova
As many as 50,500 tourists from Azerbaijan visited Turkey in February 2019, which is 4.65 percent more compared to the same period in 2018, the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism told Trend.
“The share of Azerbaijani citizens in the total number of foreigners visiting Turkey during this period amounted to 3.03 percent,” said the ministry.
However, in January, 46,800 thousand Azerbaijani tourists visited Turkey.
The ministry also noted that Turkey is interested in the growth of tourists from Azerbaijan.
Tourists from Azerbaijan mainly visit the tourist provinces of Antalya, Mugla and in particular Istanbul and Ankara.
The ministry noted that 1,670 million tourists visited Turkey in February 2019, which is 9.38 percent more compared to the same period of 2018. During this period, over 984 thousand tourists visited Istanbul, while 135 thousand tourists preferred Antalya.
Azerbaijani tourists often travel to Turkey for vacation in July and August. Turkey which provides high-quality and inexpensive vacation for many international tourists has become one of the most favorite destinations for many Azerbaijanis.
In 2018, 14,100 Azerbaijani tourists visited Turkey's Bodrum, which is located in the country's Mugla Province.
In turn, share of Turkish tourists was 12 percent among those who visited Azerbaijan in January-February 2019. During the reporting period, 364,200 foreigners and stateless persons from 152 countries came to Azerbaijan, which is 3.3 percent more compared to the same period last year.
In 2018, 2,849,600 tourists visited Azerbaijan, showing a 5.7 percent increase compared to 2017. Turkish tourists made up 10.2 percent share.
In recent years, the creation of a diversified tourism infrastructure in Azerbaijan has increased the interest of foreign tourists to the country. There are many opportunities for tourism in our country, including rural, health, environmental, cultural, social, commercial, sport and etc.
The mesmerizing mix of East and West, the possibility to have a rest on the Caspian Sea shore and enjoy fresh air and delicious meals have always been attracting tourists to Azerbaijan. Many of them get so much fascinated with the country and its capital Baku that they come back to visit Azerbaijan again after a while.
Moreover, simplification of visa regime plays a major role in the development of tourism in Azerbaijan. Currently, citizens of a number of countries get visas right at the Azerbaijani airports, while other tourists can visit the country by getting online tourist visas.
The successful holding of international events has also turned Azerbaijan into a country recognizable by everyone in the world, and a country that many foreigners wish to visit as soon as possible.
So, Azerbaijan is among the developing countries in the field of tourism, occupying the 39th place among 148 countries in terms of global competitiveness in tourism.
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Leman Mammadova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @leman_888
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