Azerbaijan Tourism Board: Tourist flow from Gulf countries to reach pre-pandemic levels

After an unprecedented decline in the tourism sector in 2020-2021, the number of arrivals to Azerbaijan from the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is growing at a rapid pace and will reach pre-pandemic levels by the end of this year, Azerbaijan Tourism Board CEO Florian Sengstschmid said, Report informs.

According to him, 3.2 million tourists from various countries visited Azerbaijan in 2019, and this figure fell to 1.1 million in 2021.

Florian Sengstschmid noted that last year, more than 32,000 travelers from the GCC countries visited Azerbaijan, and in the first quarter of this year, this figure was over 22,000: "The number of tourists from Saudi Arabia increased by 20% compared to the figures before the pandemic."

He expects a significant increase in the tourist flow in the post-pandemic period since Azerbaijan has eased travel restrictions.

Sengstschmid added that the Azerbaijan Tourism Board is actively working with its partners in the region, and also has a specialized team of specialists in the GCC region to maintain constant communication with customers and partners.