Baku in TOP 3 favorite cities of Russian tourists for February holidays

By Azernews

By Amina Nazarli

Unique culture and history, delicious food and wine and plenty of adventures are awaiting travelers in Azerbaijan.  

The capital Baku is on the Caspian Sea, but also home to oil drilling derricks and futuristic skyscrapers. The Caucasus Mountains are as earthy as you can get, peppered with traditional elevated villages such as Lahic, where subsistence farming and traditional art forms still alive. And then there is fire. Everywhere. From the permanently alight natural gas ‘flaming mountain’ of Yanardag to fire worshippers’ temple Ateshgah, both on the Absheron Peninsula. And as for air, just head to the omnipresent mountains, ideal for visiting any time of year, whether summer or winter.

But beyond its nature, which is key reason for the tourism, the people of Azerbaijan are wonderfully welcoming and hospitable.

Azerbaijan, also called the Land of Fire, was one of the favorite travel destinations for Russians in 2016.

The country entered the top 10 popular tourist destinations for Russian tourists last year, according to famous Russian touristic agency TurStat. As many as 740,000 Russians visited the country thus taking the leading position among foreign tourists visiting Azernaijan in 2016.  

TurStat says that Tunis, Morocco, Cyprus, Cuba and Vietnam recorded the highest flow of Russian tourists in 2016.

Meanwhile, the hotel search service RoomGuru.ru determined the most popular cities for February travelling on weekends, which was compiled in accordance with the booking of hotels from February 23 to 26.

Baku is the third city in popularity of foreign travel spots for Russians on weekends, followed by Minsk and Tbilisi.

The cheapest hotel accommodation, according to RoomGuru.ru will be in Vilnius (on average, 37 euros per day), and the most expensive - in Rome (over 100 euros). In Baku tourists will pay in an average of 50 euros per day for accommodation.

Neighboring Russians choose Azerbaijan as their travel destination for many reasons. First of all the Land of Fire does not require visa for Russian tourists to enjoy the country.

Azerbaijan is also a perfect destination for Russian tourists, because of its people’s very friendly attitude towards Russia. Here Russian-speaking tourists have no problem with communication, as Azerbaijanis speak Russian well enough to help with any difficulties.