Baku, Azerbaijan, March 12
By Emin Aliyev - Trend:
The Azerbaijani Ministry of Culture and Tourism plans to increase the number of the tourists visiting the country to 30-40 percent in the next three to five years, Minister Abulfas Garayev told journalists on March 12.
"The goals and objectives for the development of tourism in the country is reflected in the Development Concept 'Azerbaijan 2020: A look in the Future'," he said.
"We expect that five million tourists will visit Azerbaijan annually by 2020. It will allow the tourism industry to function fully," Garayev said.
The ministry also intends to further conduct various measures, according to the minister.
"Furthermore, Azerbaijan is becoming the venue for a growing number of major international cultural, economic, sporting events which also have a positive impact on the number of tourists arriving in the country," he said.
The minister said during a speech at the Azerbaijan Investment Summit "2020 and further: accelerating economic development" that the income from tourism in Azerbaijan increased 56 fold over 10 years, while the world average indicators amounted to 10-12 percent.
The figures demonstrate the growth of tourism in Azerbaijan, Garayev said.
Translated by S.I.
Edited by S.M.