TODAY.AZ / Politics

Ganja preparing for tourist inflow

01 July 2016 [10:00] - TODAY.AZ

/By Azernews/

By Amina Nazarli

Azerbaijan is a beautiful land that can provide a lot of fun and pastime for tourists. The name of its marvelous capital Baku has long been familiar to many thanks to its unusual and unique atmosphere and prestigious competitions that the city hosts for the past years.

The rapid development of tourism sector affects not only Baku, but also its picturesque regions.

Ganja, the second largest city in Azerbaijan after Baku with about 313,300 residents, also has tourist potential. The city with its ancient history of more than 4,000 years, has many amenities that offer a wide range of cultural activities, drawing both from a rich local dramatic portfolio and an international repertoire.

The region is famous for its nature, namely for majestic Goygol Lake and reserve. A large mountain lake surrounded by the mountains of the Lesser Caucasus was formed as a result of a devastating earthquake that destroyed the mountain Kapaz in the 12th century.

Azerbaijan Tourism Association Chairman Nahid Bagirov said that Ganja and the surrounding areas have the greatest travel possibilities.

“It’s necessary to fully and effectively use this potential to build hiking trails, vast and constantly promote the tourist potential of Ganja. In addition, it is necessary to prepare competent guides, develop excursion programs, carry out various tourism fairs, exhibitions, festivals and other events, so many tourists have a chance to learn about the history, literature, cuisine and folklore of Ganja. All of this work can have a positive impact on the tourism development of the city in the future,” he told Day.az.

Bagirov expressed hope that the ongoing work in tourism, favorable tour packages, will turn the city into one of the leading tourist destinations.

“Ganja has all possibilities to become the tourist hub, even there is potential for the development of thermal tourism,” the expert said. “To solve all these problems relevant city agencies should work together with travel and medical institutions. It is necessary to work closely with Azerbaijan Tourism Association and the Association for Support of health and thermal tourism.”

Ruslan Guliyev, the head of the Medical Support and the Thermal Tourism Association, for his part, noted that the number of tourists coming to Ganja is increasing in the past five years.

“Ganja has good opportunities for the development of a tourist destination, and we must not lose sight of this fact,” he stressed. “The close proximity of Ganja with Naftalan, famous worldwide for its wellness centers, as well as opening Goy Gol reserve offers tourists the opportunity to visit this city.”

Another reason making the city attractive is that this year Ganja has become the eighth European Youth Capital. The title will allow the city for the period of one year to showcase, through a multi-faceted program, its youth-related cultural, social, political and economic life and development.

“Holding such events and festivals will contribute only to improvement and development of tourism sector in Ganja,” Guliyev said.

The city is known for its famous metal handicrafts industry during the Middle Ages. The most notable works of that period includes Gates of Ganja and Ancient Ganja Gate.

It is one of the science and education centers of Azerbaijan. The city has four public higher education institutions.

Among other ancient monuments are bridges, the palace of Sultan Darus, towers, mosques, madrasas, baths, caravanserais and complex of buildings Imamzade. There is also the first parliament of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan with its large city park in front of it.

To learn more about the history of the prominent city tourists can visit the local museum which has more than 30,000 artifacts located in the 18 exhibition halls.


URL: http://www.today.az/news/politics/152232.html

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