Changes are being recorded in the geographical origin structure of tourists coming to Azerbaijan.
In a statement to Medianews.az on the matter, economist deputy Vuqar Bayramov said that although the number of visitors from the European Union increased by 7.9 percent in the first 10 months of this year, the number of visitors from the Gulf countries decreased by 3.5 percent, and from the CIS countries by 8.2 percent. Overall, during the same period, the number of tourists coming to Azerbaijan decreased by 1.7 percent to 2 million 171 thousand people.
According to V. Bayramov, 24.4 percent of visitors were from Russia, 17.4 percent from Turkey, 8 percent from Iran, 6.6 percent from India, 4.3 percent from Saudi Arabia, 4.2 percent from Georgia, 4 percent from Kazakhstan, 3.4 percent from Pakistan, 2.6 percent from China, 2.4 percent from Israel, 2.3 percent from Uzbekistan, 1.6 percent from the United Arab Emirates, 1.4 percent from Ukraine, 1.2 percent from Turkmenistan, 1.1 percent each from Belarus, the United Kingdom, and Kuwait, and 12.9 percent were citizens of other countries.
The deputy believes that the decrease in the number of Arab tourists is related to the increased interest in alternative tourist markets and the fact that tourism prices in Azerbaijan are still high: “The increase in the number of visitors from Europe is related to the growing desire to visit the Old Continent, the increase in the number of business trips, and generally the particular interest in the region. At the same time, in recent years, the interest of foreigners in health tourism in Azerbaijan has also been observed to increase.
Tourism is the sector that brings the most foreign currency to the country after the energy sector. In this regard, renewing the country origin of incoming tourists, especially strengthening cooperation with countries located in Europe and Southeast Asia in this area, is important. This can increase stability in tourism revenues.”
Nailə Qasımova,
Medianews.az
