Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 1
By Ilhama Isabalayeva – Trend:
Azerbaijan was visited by 2,242,783 tourists in 2016 that is by 11.7 percent more than in 2015, the country’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism told Trend Feb. 1.
A majority of foreign tourists arrived in Azerbaijan during the period accounted for Russia (33 percent), Georgia (22.5 percent), Turkey (13.9 percent) and Iran (10.9 percent).
By simplifying the visa issuance procedure in 2016 at the airport for citizens of several countries, including Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Japan, China, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore, the number of tourists coming to Azerbaijan from these countries increased significantly.
In 2016, the number of tourists coming to Azerbaijan from Jordan increased by twofold as compared to 2015, from Kuwait – increased by 3.2 times, from Qatar – by 5.5 times, from Saudi Arabia and Oman – by 10 times, from the UAE – by 22 times and from Iran – by 30 times.
Meanwhile, an increase was also observed in the number of tourists arriving from the countries of Persian Gulf and Middle East, Asia, Africa, US and Australia.