Re-introduction of travel agencies' licensing proposed in Azerbaijan
By Trend
The Association of Travel Agencies of Azerbaijan has proposed to re-introduce licensing of travel agencies, Trend reports on May 12.
Chairman of the association’s board Rufat Hajiyev said that the cancellation of special permits, or rather licenses, by order of the head of state in 2015 was an extremely important decision for that period, as it became necessary to form the tourism industry and the conditions for opening new companies in this sector.
“This decision proved itself, and over the past 5 years, enough travel agencies have appeared on the market in Azerbaijan, the number of which currently exceeds 4,000. Naturally, along with an increase in quantity, it is necessary to create conditions for improving quality. But it is regrettable that currently not all travel agencies meet the required quality standards, and this creates very serious problems for tourism,” Hajiyev added.
“Recently, the association has received enough complaints from citizens about the work of travel companies that cannot fulfill their obligations and services. Therefore, we believe that travel agencies should again undergo the licensing procedure,” the chairman noted.
Having said that guidelines on this issue are reflected in the law on tourism, Hajiyev noted that it is necessary to restart the licensing process in the near future, applying certain quality standards.
“We believe that if the quality of services of travel agencies is improved, then all issues in this sector will be resolved to a certain extent,” Hajiyev said.
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