Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 29 / Trend M.Aliyev /
It is important to create proper infrastructure in the mountain regions for the development of winter tourism in Azerbaijan, travel companies said
The companies organize winter season tours mainly to Sheki, Guba, Zagatala and Balaken. "Organized trips is aimed for walking, but there is a lack of mountainous ski centers for the organizing full rest," Globus Travel employee Mirjabir Samedli told Trend
"The companies does not organize group travels from Baku to the regions due to the lack of roads," Baku Tur company representative Orkhan Mammadov said
"As a travel company we book rooms at the hotels, but we do not organize tourists' arrival in the regions during cold weather," Mammadov said
According to Mammadov, hotels in Pirgulu offer skis, however the region needs special complexes for winter sports
"We accommodate tourists in the existing Olympic complexes in which one can engage in various sports in a closed environment. We usually send tourists to Guba Olympic Complex," Darvih Travel said
However the number of tourists sharply reduces in winter season compared to summer season, the company's representative added
The first winter tourist complex will accept tourists in late 2011, Culture and Tourism Ministry Investment and Technical programs department head Ruslan Abdulalimov told Trend
"The constructed winter-summer sport and tourism complex in the Gusar region will able to accept 15,000 people and accommodate 10,000 tourists simultaneously," Abdulalimov said
According to Abdulalimov the construction of the airport near the center will create conditions for the arrival of many tourists from foreign countries.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev attended the foundation laying ceremony of the winter- summer tourist complex Shahdagh in Gusar. The complex will create all conditions for skiing and other sports. Based on the Austrian specialists' draft the construction company will set up special equipment for snow cover all year round.