AzTA: 2021 - successful year for tourism sector

The year 2021 has been successful for the tourism sector in Azerbaijan, chairman of the Azerbaijan Tourism Association (AzTA) Ahmad Gurbanov told Report.

"This year, the opening of Azerbaijan's air borders with several countries led to a certain influx of tourists. Local tourism facilities have faced an inflow of both foreigners and Azerbaijani citizens. Hotels in the regions were full on weekends and partially full on weekdays," Gurbanov noted.

He believes that 2022 will also be successful for the tourism industry: "We expect the opening of air borders with other countries, as well as our land borders in the new year. If this happens, the tourist flow from the neighbouring nations to Azerbaijan will increase. Also, a number of projects are being implemented in our liberated territories, and international airports are being built. It means that foreign tourists will be able to come to Karabakh by plane.

"At the same time, a new law on tourism is also expected to be adopted in Azerbaijan next year. The last one was adopted in 1999. There are many vital points in the new law. In particular, it is planned to create a register of tourism companies and hotels, which will encourage these facilities to work more transparently. In other words, it will be possible to see information about companies through an open registry, and this factor will lead to a revival in the tourism sector," the chairman added.