Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 31
By Ilhama Isabalayeva – Trend:
Visitors from Arab countries and Russia topped the list of tourists traveling to Azerbaijan in summer 2017, Chairman of Azerbaijan Tourism Association Nahid Bagirov told Trend.
In January-June 2017, 1,199,667 foreigners visited Azerbaijan, which is 24 percent more compared to 1H16, according to him.
In the first half of 2017, Azerbaijan was visited by 374,491 tourists from Russia, 254,425 tourists from Georgia, 180,103 tourists from Iran, 44,196 tourists from the UAE, 27,342 tourists from Ukraine and 19,355 tourists from Iraq.
Bagirov also noted that direct flights will be operated from Baku to Saudi Arabia's Jeddah and Thailand's Bangkok starting September, which will help the tourist flow grow during that month.
“The airport closest to Mecca is located in Jeddah. Therefore, pilgrims from Azerbaijan will also use this destination,” he said.