(MENAFN- AzerNews) By Rashid Shirinov
The policy of Azerbaijan on developing thetourism industry and attracting more and more tourists every yearis yielding great results.This is evidentin the growing number of people staying in the hotels of Baku and other cities of the country.
As many as 756,800 people were accommodated in hotels and hotel-type enterprises in Azerbaijan in January-June of this year, the State Statistical Committee told Trend on September 20. The number of overnight stays amounted to 1,288,900.
Thus,this year the number of persons accommodated in hotels increased by 25.8 percent, the number of overnight stays by 19.3 percent, and the income increased by 22.3 percent compared to the same period of 2017.
As many as 62 percent of overnight stays were registered in Baku, 9.7 percent in Gabala, 5.1 percent in Gusar, 4.5 percent in Naftalan, 3.6 percent in Guba, 3.4 percent in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, 1.5 percent in Khachmaz, 1.1 percent in Agstafa, and 9.1 percent in thehotels ofother regions.
The State Statistical Committee noted that 935,200 overnight stays in Azerbaijan in the reporting period accounted for foreigners and stateless persons, and this is 72.6 percent of the total number of overnight stays. As many as 14.3 percent of them accounted for the UAE nationals, 14.1 percent citizens of Russia, 6.6 percent of Iran, 4.5 percent of Turkey, 4.3 percent citizens of Saudi Arabia.
The committee also noted that the revenues of hotels in the first half of this year amounted to 167 million manats ($97.95 million), 66.3 percent of which were received from the provision of room services, 23.8 percent from the food sale services, including beverages, 3.8 percent from treatment and health services, and 6.1 percent from other services.
Presently, Azerbaijan is engaged in the efforts todiversify the non-oil economy, and tourism industry is one of the promising sectors to contribute to the achievement of this ambitious goal.Tourism in Azerbaijan is developing rapidly, since the government carriesout comprehensive activitiesto support the flow of foreign visitors.
Thanks to the wonderful climate of Azerbaijan, its culture, cuisine, nature, attractions, and diversity, more and more tourists visit the country every year. Also, hospitality of Azerbaijani people, the capital with its super modern and ancient buildings draw the attention of all tourists visiting this South Caucasuscountry. The tourists mainly visit the most popular destinations Baku, Sheki, Gabala, Guba and many other cities.
As for the tourism infrastructure, currentlythere are hundreds accommodation facilities operating in Azerbaijan. Theyare of any price range, starting from just $6-7 per night in hostels and $25 in hotels.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews' staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
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