(MENAFN- AzerNews) By Leman Mammadova
Azerbaijan is an attractive tourist destination for Russian citizens in both summer and winter seasons. The presence of nine climate zones in Azerbaijan allows tourists to ski in the snowy mountains, as well as relax in sandy beaches, participate in interesting festivals and sports events.
A workshop on "Opportunities for Winter Tourism in Azerbaijan" was held in Moscow, Russia, on October 29.
Nearly 100 tour operators, travel agents and representatives of the Russian tourism industry attended the event.
Representatives of the Shahdag Tourism Center and the Tufandag Winter-Summer Tourist Complex provided detailed information on Azerbaijan's winter tourism opportunities and the services offered to the ski resorts.
The event also talked about activities and services for health and self-restoration tourism in Gabala as well as ancient healing traditions and sanatoriums in Gabala city.
Azerbaijan is one of the winter holiday destinations for Russian tourists, and the number of Russian visitors arriving in the country during the winter tourist season from December to March is increasing every year.
Russia was the leader in the tourism market of Azerbaijan in 2018. Thus, as many as 2,849,600 tourists from 196 countries visited Azerbaijan during the year and Russians make up the largest part of the tourists having a share of 30.9 percent (about 900,000).
Azerbaijan opened its tourism representative office in Moscow in December 2018. The number of Russian tourists making trips to Azerbaijan in January-September 2019 made up 724,730 people.
Azerbaijan offers popular destinations for snow seekers. While most of Azerbaijan's major cities, including Baku, receive only small amount of snow, locations such as Guba, Gusar and Gabala are offering great snow experiences.
The Shahdag winter-summer tourism complex has attracted great interest of tourists since it opened its doors to guests in 2013. The tourist complex "Shahdag" is located on the territory of the Shahdag National Park in the Gusar region of Azerbaijan near the mountain of the same name, 32 km from the center of Gusar district. The complex with an area of 2058 hectares is the first mountain-ski resort in the history of Azerbaijan.
The infrastructure of the complex is very rich - there are a lot of hotels, restaurants, ski trails, lifts, etc. Currently there are five hotels here - Zirve (4 stars), Shahdag Hotel & Spa (5 stars), Gaya Residences (family residences), PIK Palas (5 stars) and Park Chalet (4 stars). In addition, in all seasons there are several cable cars, many cafes, restaurants, and plenty of entertainment at the services of vacationers.
The complex has appropriate areas for skiing, horse trekking, snowshoeing, snow tubing, and mountain hiking. During the winter season, 19 ski slopes are given to different skiers. The professional ski school and ski rental shop offer all kinds of accessories and advice to meet every guest's needs.
However, another ski resort of the country Tufandag Mountain Resort, which was launched in Gabala in January 2014, offers all the favorable conditions for relaxation in the mountainous area. This recreational and tourism facility is located approximately 4 km from Gabala city, provides visitors with skiing slopes and cable roads with a total length of 17 km with red, black and blue stripes.
Both amateur and professional skiers can fancy the service level at Shahdag and Tufandag which is on par with the European ski resorts.
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