Azerbaijan bestowed with title Cultural Destination 2023 [PHOTOS]
Azerbaijan has recently been bestowed with the prestigious "Cultural Destination of 2023" award by Chinese "Voyage" magazine.
The State Tourism Agency proudly announced this, highlighting the country's rich historical heritage sites, Azernews reports.
Azerbaijan's remarkable position and reputation as a hub of intercultural dialogue were highlighted at the award ceremony.
During the award ceremony, participants were informed about Azerbaijan's captivating historical landmarks, including the Old City featuring the renowned Shirvanshahs Palace and Maiden Tower.
These sites have been recognised by UNESCO and are listed as World Heritage sites.
Moreover, the Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape, the historical centre of Shaki along with the Khan Palace, and the cultural landscape of Khinalig and Transhumance Route were also acknowledged for their cultural significance.
To further promote Azerbaijan's history and culture, the Azerbaijan Tourism Bureau, in partnership with Voyage magazine, shared information about Azerbaijan's history and culture with millions of travellers through the magazine's Weibo social platform page.
Note that the tourist flow to the country is expected to increase in 2026 to 4 million people.
In 2019, the tourist flow to Azerbaijan amounted to a record of over 3.2 million people.
The share of the tourism sector in non-oil GDP has increased four times in the country over the past 20 years.
Construction of tourist complexes is being carried out in Azerbaijan's liberated territories.
By 2025, about a million people are expected to visit the liberated territories, including both locals and foreign tourists.
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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @lmntypewriterrr
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