Tour operators, travel agents to be attracted to civil liability insurance in Azerbaijan

A new bill "On tourism", which is currently being discussed in the Milli Majlis, provides for the mandatory assignment of a star category to accommodation facilities belonging to the category of "hotels", the definition of civil liability insurance for tour operators and travel agents operating in the country, certification of tourist guides, the creation of tourist associations, recreational areas, tourist assistance centers and other issues, the chairman of the State Agency for Tourism (SAT), Fuad Nagiyev said, Report informs.

As in the whole world, new directions of tourism development have formed in our country, he said.

“The current law `On tourism’ was adopted in 1999. Over the past period, large-scale work has been carried out at the state level to develop tourism in our country. The priority goal is to transform tourism into the leading sector of the country's economy. Also, in recent years, tourism infrastructure and tourism services that meet international standards have been created in Azerbaijan. Factors such as dynamically changing development trends, new global challenges, modern international standards, expanding opportunities for using the tourism potential of our country required a new approach to the legislative framework and state regulation in this sector. The new approach we have mentioned has necessitated the development of a new bill defining new tourism relations and mechanisms for regulating the emerging tourism industry, rules for the effective use of tourism resources, and other issues. The bill on tourism has already been approved in the first reading at the plenary session of the Milli Majlis on December 14 this year."