BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 2
By Sadraddin Aghjayev - Trend:
Trend presents a review of the most important events of 2021 in the Azerbaijani tourism sector.
The innovations were introduced into the bill in the Azerbaijani tourism sector in 2021. Thus, a number of issues related to the development of this sphere were outlined in the new bill "On Tourism".
The document was prepared and included in the work plan for the autumn session of the parliament, but some adjustment was required due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The importance of tourism and interest in Azerbaijan has also increased.
Moreover, investments have been made in the development of tourism sector and it is planned to create tourist zones for the development of domestic tourism, including rural, ecological and agricultural tourism, rendering of services and the training of qualified personnel in this sphere, as well as the attraction of rural people to appropriate courses and their training in the field of tourism.
Perhaps, such issues as tax and credit benefits will be considered at the first stage.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Azerbaijan’s tourism sector was one of the fastest growing sectors. The number of tourists visiting Azerbaijan greatly increased in 2019 thanks to the effective use of the tourism potential.
The funds spent by tourists reached about three billion manat ($1.8 billion). The closure of land borders has negatively impacted the country's tourism sector. So far, Azerbaijan has opened borders with more than 60 countries. The problem is that the issue of opening and closing borders depends not only on Azerbaijan.
The success as a result of mass vaccination and the removal of many restrictions within quarantine regime contributes to the revival of the tourism sector in the world, which is also observed in Azerbaijan. The number of trips of citizens to the Azerbaijani resorts has increased since spring 2021.
Many countries focused on domestic tourism in 2021 as the first step to revitalize this sphere.
There are over 600 hotels in Azerbaijan and the well-developed recreational infrastructure.
There are all the prerequisites for the revival of domestic tourism. A successful vaccination program against COVID-19 is being implemented. Many restrictions related to the activity of catering, recreation and entertainment facilities have been lifted within the quarantine regime. The trips of passengers to the Azerbaijani districts and a number of countries have been resumed.
All this gives prerequisites for passengers to stay at the hotels, boarding houses, recreation facilities, located in the districts, in the future.
As far as the demand of the local market increased, the activity of travel agencies and recreation facilities was resumed. The number of new tourism products targeted at domestic demand has increased.
Moreover, a tourism development strategy until 2023 was approved in Azerbaijan. It implies the transformation of the country into one of the most attractive countries in the world and the implementation of nine main spheres of tourism sector, namely, tourism policy, development and research of the tourism sector, introduction of innovative technologies, legal framework and taxes, infrastructure development, public-private partnership, marketing and communication, education and training in tourism sector.
According to forecasts of the Azerbaijan State Tourism Agency, the flow of tourists to Azerbaijan will be doubled until 2023 as a result of the implementation of these measures.
Moreover, the Azerbaijan State Tourism Agency has prepared a project for the development of tourism sector in Karabakh region, on the basis of which tourism resources and facilities in the Azerbaijani lands liberated from the Armenian occupation will be assessed.
According to this strategy, the concepts of such tourist routes as Road to Aghdam, Road to Fuzuli and Road to Khojavand were presented to the corresponding structures.
Several infrastructure operations were carried out in Aghdam city. The representatives of the State Tourism Agency also participated in those operations. The proposals were made to create the tourist infrastructure around the Shahbulag fortress. A number of other operations are underway to create tourist and recreational zones in the Karabakh zone and in other Azerbaijani districts.
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