Azerbaijan to develop ecotourism after COP29

Azerbaijan will begin to develop ecotourism after hosting the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), advisor to the chairman of the board of the public association “Association of Travel Agencies of Azerbaijan” Muzaffar Aghakarimov said at an event held in Baku on the topic “Non-tariff barriers to trade,” Report informs.

“Today, ecotourism is one of the most popular types of tourism in the world. Important work will be done in this area after COP29 in Azerbaijan. In second place is beach tourism, where Azerbaijan also has great potential. Much remains to be done for beach tourism, like in Absheron, as well as in other Caspian regions. We must take the initiative to receive the Blue Flag, like Türkiye, Greece, France and Spain. The beaches of these countries meet the safety and quality requirements. Ski tourism is in third place. There is great development in Azerbaijan this area,” he said.

Aghakarimov noted that Azerbaijan can receive more than 5 million tourists a year. He said that if the COVID-19 pandemic had not hit the tourism sector, Azerbaijan could have received 4 million tourists in 2023.

“Today, there are 800 hotels in Azerbaijan, which is also an indicator of development. Among them there are hotels of world brands,” he added.

In 2023, 2.085 million tourists from 187 countries arrived in Azerbaijan, which is 30.2% more than in the previous year.