Azerbaijan, Baku, March 27 / Trend A. Akhunodv /
The number of foreign tourists in Azerbaijan hit 1.561.9 million persons in 2011, compared to 585,400 people in 2003, the governmental said today.
"The number of hotels and hotel-type facilities in Azerbaijan was 96 in 2003, but it increased to 508 in 2011," the report said. "The number of tourism organizations in this period increased from 50 to 129."
Three five-star hotels - Hilton, Jumeyra BIS Bilgah and the Kempinski Badamdar were put into operation in the country for the first time in 2011. The construction of five more is underway in Baku, Guba and Shamakhi.
"Azerbaijan participated in 19 international tourism fairs in 2011," the report says. "Azerbaijan signed 111 bilateral agreements on cooperation in the sphere of culture and tourism with foreign countries in 2003-2011."