Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 18
By Anvar Mammadov - Trend:
Tourist flow to Azerbaijan continues to grow, Chairman of the Azerbaijan Tourism Association Nahid Bagirov told Trend.
"According to the preliminary results of the summer tourism season, the flow of tourists to Azerbaijan has grown by 10 percent. But there has been a decline in a number of individual countries," Bagirov noted.
"As in 2017, the majority of tourists came from the Arab world, which is explained by the opening of new direct flights between Azerbaijan and Arab countries. There was a growth in the number of tourists from Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia. At the same time, a decline was recorded in the number of Emirati tourists," Bagirov said.
"Decline in the tourist flow from the UAE is due to the increased rivalry in the market. The rivalry for the Arab tourist market is very high and many countries - Kazakhstan, Georgia, Turkey, Russia and others - are constantly trying to create the best conditions for Arab tourists to attract them. Recently, Azerbaijan has simplified the visa regime for UAE residents, and I think this will allow us increase the number of Emirati tourists," Bagirov said.
"Along with the Arab countries, there was also an increase in the tourist flow from Russia, CIS and Israel," he added.
According to Bagirov, not only Baku, but also the regions of the country are very popular among the visitors.
In January-June 2018, 1.325 million foreigners and stateless persons from 189 countries visited Azerbaijan, which is 10.2 percent more than in the same period of 2017.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @Anvar_Mammadov