Azerbaijan looks for boost in tourism industry, with some help from Turkey

Azerbaijani Culture and Tourism Minister Abulfaz Garayev told a group of visiting Turkish journalists on Monday that his government would welcome help from Ankara because Turkey has proven to be a world leader in the quality of services offered by its tourism and hospitality industries.

“Turkey has made remarkable progress in the services offered by its travel industry. We are looking to learn from Turkey and hoping they will share their best experiences with us,” Garayev said, stressing that the ministry is taking steps to ramp up Azerbaijan's hospitality and tourism infrastructure dramatically.

Garayev stated that he has already talked to his Turkish counterpart, Ertuğrul Günay, who has remained in that position in the new Turkish government. “I'm looking to pay a visit to Turkey to discuss the details further, or Günay may come here. We appreciate that Turkey has expended a great deal of effort to help improve our tourism industry in the past, and we believe it will contribute more,” he said.

In cooperation with industry representatives, the ministry has already been offering training courses especially for service personnel in Azerbaijan. Most of this training was offered by Turkish specialists, and in some cases the courses were held in Turkey.

Azerbaijan is undergoing huge infrastructure changes in transportation and other areas thanks to growing oil revenue. Some government investments have been allocated to improving existing travel destinations. Many buildings in the downtown area of the old city of Baku have been renovated, and more improvement is on the way to give a facelift to this flourishing “windy city,” a literal translation of its name. New skyscrapers are being built to serve the growing need for business space in the city. Almost all of the museums and theaters in Baku have been renovated in the last five years.

Although the number of travelers to Azerbaijan was 2 million last year, industry experts argue the country could potentially accommodate 22 to 25 million tourists annually. The Eurovision Song Contest is expected to draw close to 50,000 people to Baku, according to government officials here. The country is still trying to repair the damage done to its tourism industry by the negative impact of Nagorno-Karabakh war during the 1990s. The industry bounced back in the early 2000s and today the government touts the ambitious idea of turning Azerbaijan into an elite tourist destination in the Caucasus.

Azerbaijan also hopes that revenue earned from tourism could be a significant contributor to the national economy in the future. There has already been considerable progress in tourism investment in recent years. In the first half of this year, the tourism industry grew 18.6 percent versus the same period last year, generating $384 million in revenue according to government statistics. The total investment made in the industry during the first half of this year amounted to $95 million.

Firudin Gurbanov, the chief of staff at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, told Today's Zaman that the country is looking to develop new concepts to attract more tourists to Azerbaijan. “It is true that we are taking measures to increase the service quality in our existing tourism facilities by offering training courses and allocating resources to the industry. But we also must complement these with new concepts to lure travelers,” Gurbanov explained.

A planned new ski resort called Shahdag, located in the Caucasus Mountains below Shahdag peak, which has an elevation of 4,243 meters, is one concept aimed at bringing tourists to this oil-rich nation. The resort, similar to Alpine ski resorts, is slated to be complete by the end of 2012. It will operate 10 lifts serving 17 slopes and be outfitted with facilities for the creation of artificial snow. The resort will be situated on 2,000 hectares of land and composed of two parts. The lower part of the resort will be located at an altitude of 1,435 meters, with another higher point at 2,450 meters above sea level. The resort would accommodate 10,000 people per day. Gurbanov put the total cost to finish it at 1.5 billion euros, and says Shahdag will offer services to travelers in both summer and winter.

Azerbaijan is also looking to develop beaches along the Caspian Sea as well as to convert some islands in the Caspian to recreation centers with hotels. “Diving could be promoted from the shores of these islands,” Gurbanov said. The “carbon neutral” Zira Island development is a one new concept Azerbaijan is promoting as an eco-friendly tourism destination. The award-winning project will create a new development that is entirely independent of external resources, in other words a self-contained island using wind and solar energy and recycled water resources.

More investment is needed in the hotel industry in Azerbaijan. There are six five-star hotels in Azerbaijan, with enough capacity to accommodate delegations and convention attendees. But Tourism Minister Garayev says the country needs more hotels in the three to four-star categories for budget travelers. In the last five years, about 50 hotels and holiday villages have been built around the country.