AITF 2011, the Azerbaijan International Tourism and Travel Fair, took place on 28-30 April in Baku Expo Centre. The organizers of the exhibition (ITE Group plc and Iteca Caspian), together with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan, have prepared a special program for the tenth anniversary AITF exhibition. This year the exhibition celebrates its tenth anniversary. For the second consecutive year, the country partner of AITF is Turkey.
AITF was first held in 2002, with 26 exhibitors from 5 countries. Today, AITF 2011 welcomes 230 companies from 24 countries, presenting 61 tourism destinations. The tenth anniversary edition of AITF has increased its exhibition area by 25% compared with last year.
During the exhibition, media representatives from Germany, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, experts from the World Tourism Organization visited Azerbaijan. These press tours were organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism within the activities on the Year of Tourism.
The exhibition featured about 100 companies from 18 regions and presented the attractions of regional holiday areas, resorts and hotels in Azerbaijan, as well as introduce the exhibitors and visitors of AITF 2011 to the rich and varied folklore, cuisine and traditions of the Azeri people.
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and his spouse Mehriban Aliyeva have also familiarized themselves with exhibitions "AITF 2011" 10th Azerbaijan International Tourism and Travel Fair and 2nd Azerbaijan Domestic Tourism Exhibition.
Minister of Culture and Tourism Abulfaz Garayev said that the organization of exhibitions in 2011, marked as the Year of Tourism, is a significant event. The tourism regions of Azerbaijan were also presented at a high level.
President Ilham Aliyev and his spouse Mehriban Aliyeva were informed that these regions have ample tourism opportunities, unique historical monuments. It was noted that the northern regions of Azerbaijan have the potential receive tourists both in summer and in winter. Beautiful nature attracts tourists all year round. The region has excellent conditions for the reception, which opens up opportunities for leisure of travelers of tourists to the region.
The exhibition provided information on the opportunities that Karabakh has. At the same time, the visitors were informed that the tourism potential in the Azerbaijani regions, which are currently under the occupation of the Armenians, is destroyed.