Azerbaijan expects 5 million tourists

/By AzerNews/

By Nigar Orujova

Azerbaijan, the country of contrasts, which combines Eastern charm and European culture, is planning to attract more tourists in the near future.

The country is expected to increase its tourist flow up to 5 million a year, Abulfaz Garayev, the culture and tourism minister said at the Caspian Energy Forum 2015 on March 11.

The share of tourism in Azerbaijan's GDP stands at 2.4 percent or 1.3 billion manat, he noted. "This is a very good indicator. Recently, the influx of tourists into the country increased, which is associated with Azerbaijan's stable position in the region."

Over 2.5 million tourists arrived in Azerbaijan in 2014. Overall, tourism in the Land of Fire has doubled since 2006. The tourists’ expenditures in the country increased from 91 million manats in 2006 to 1.2 milliard manats in 2014.

The minister noted that the influx of tourists from more distant countries has also increased.

"We have seen an increase in the influx of tourists from Europe, the U.S., the Far East and Arab countries in recent years. At the same time a sharp decrease in regional tourism occurred. Visitors from Russia and Georgia have diminished when previously they held a major share in our tourism industry," Garayev said.

Azerbaijan now is working on setting up a new visa regime with a number of European countries in view of opening its tourism's floodgate. Experts have put down the decline in tourists due to the worldwide financial crisis.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan is developing its services. For example the number of hotels has now reached 530, with 23 five start hotels in the country, 41 four star hotels, 12 three star and 3 two star hotels.

"However, Azerbaijan is losing to other countries in the region, such as Turkey, where there are more sunny days per year," the minister noted. "That's why it was decided to develop and build a variety of tourism clusters in the country. Seven areas have already been identified where they will be built."

Azerbaijan will continue to work towards attracting more tourists to the country, Garayev explained, since it is a very profitable sector.

"Every tourist arriving in Azerbaijan spends a minimum of $700 here. Of course, this is a big plus for the state and its budget from an economic standpoint. We intend to improve on our tourism industry and increase our number of tourists coming to Azerbaijan to 4.5-5 million people per year," the minister stressed.

This year, Azerbaijan expects tourists from around the world will attend the inaugural European Games in Baku in June. In the next coming years, the country will also hold Islamic Solidarity Games, Formula 1 race and quarterfinals and three group games of the Euro 2020.