Baku, Azerbaijan, April 3
By Ilhama Isabalayeva - Trend:
A 3 percent increase was observed in the number of incoming tourists in Azerbaijan, which was due to arrival of tourists from new countries, Kanan Guluzade, the spokesman of the State Tourism Agency of Azerbaijan, told Trend.
The agency spokesman noted that Georgian tourists hit the record in January-February 2019.
"This year, for the first time, the number of tourists from Georgia exceeded the number of those from Russia. In addition, work is underway to attract more Chinese tourists. In accordance with a signed memorandum, 200,000 tourists from China are expected to arrive in Azerbaijan," he said.
Guluzade stressed that during the first two months of 2019, there was a 7 percent decrease in the number of Arab tourists.
"But this is temporary, because the period of January-February is considered weak, from tourist standpoint. On the other hand, direct flights from Arab countries to Azerbaijan have decreased. There have been made some changes in the procedures for issuing visas to Iraqi tourists. All this influenced the number of foreign tourists. However, the situation may stabilize due to the fact that two new Arab airlines will fly to Azerbaijan. It is also necessary to take into account the fact that the Middle East is a politically unstable region, and problems arise in connection with leaving the country. Therefore, such problems may occur periodically," he added.