Fuad Nagiyev: Certain shortcomings remain in Azerbaijan's hotel business sector

"Currently, Azerbaijan has certain shortcomings in the hotel business, especially in the service sector," Report informs, citing Chairman of the State Tourism Agency Fuad Nagiyev.

“We have implemented certain initiatives aimed at bringing the prices for hotel services in line with the number of stars they have been awarded. It is known that special attention is paid at the state level to the development of the hotel business.

As a result of the purposeful policy pursued in the country, the opening of new hotels is stimulated, the implementation of important socio-economic infrastructure projects continues successfully.

However, the development of tourism should not be associated only with infrastructure. Since tourism is a complex industry, the development of which requires an integrated approach. The quality of service is directly related to the star classification of hotels. During the pandemic, the hotel business has undergone severe tests," Fuad Nagiyev said.

According to him, there is also a great merit of public associations and associations working in the sector of the hotel business.

"After the Azerbaijani Accreditation Center issued the Azerbaijan Tourism Bureau a conformity assessment certificate, the bureau, together with the Azerbaijani Hotel Association, has developed a national star classification. Therefore, a preliminary assessment of the hotels was carried out, and 17 hotels operating in the country were assessed in accordance with this system.

“As the goal is to preserve the country's tourism image, an honest approach in this area is imperative. Unfortunately, I must point out that, based on preliminary estimates, a number of hotels were unable to achieve their stated star rating due to the quality of the offered services. Taking this into account, the State Tourism Agency with the participation of the Azerbaijan Tourism Bureau and the Azerbaijani Hotel Association will provide consultative support to hotels.”