(MENAFN- AzerNews) By Laman Ismayilova
Azerbaijan tourism Summit 2022 has started its work at the Baku
Congress Center, Azernews reports.
Within the summit, members of the tourism industry, state, and
private sector representatives discuss development trends in
tourism.
In his speech, chairman of the State Tourism Agency Fuad Nagiyev
highlighted the latest achievements in the tourism sector.
He underlined that the State Tourism Agency intends to increase
the number of tourists visiting Azerbaijan to 4 million in
2026.
The State Tourism Agency has set up goals aimed at the
improvement of Azerbaijan's tourism industry within the '2022-2026
Socio-Economic Development Strategy of the Republic of
Azerbaijan'.
The agency aims to increase GDP production in the tourist
accommodation and public catering sector by 1.5 times compared to
2019 and to achieve an average annual growth of 20 percent in the
tourism sector.
At the same time, the State Tourism Agency seeks to improve
internal tourism by increasing the number of domestic tourists to 6
million.
Meanwhile, more than 1,458,000 visits to Azerbaijan were
registered, which means a 2.1 times increase compared to the
figures of 2021.
'Under the current conditions, our forecast from the beginning
of the year came true and the industry was able to recover by 50
percent this year. Our main goal in holding the summit is to bring
tourism industry subjects together, to inform them about our work
and future plans,' said Nagiyev.
The chairman of the State Tourism Agency also mentioned the
multi-directional measures to study, realize and promote the
tourism potential of Azerbaijan's liberated territories.
He stressed that tourism will be one of the leading areas to
ensure the livelihood of people in Karabakh and East Zangezur.
'One of the most sacred tasks before us is the development of
Karabakh as a tourist destination. We will ensure the livelihood of
our people in the lands that our heroic army returned to us and
tourism will be one of the leading areas in this direction. Several
projects in this direction have already been implemented,' Fuad
Nagiyev added.
'In March, a groundbreaking ceremony of the tourism complex was
held in Sugovushan with the participation of President of
Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. At the same time, the primary recreation
infrastructure for tourism was built around the historical
Shahbulag fortress in Agdam. The tourism opportunities of Shusha
city and Dashalti, Fuzuli, Khojavand, Jabrayil, Zangilan, Gubadli,
Kalbajar were evaluated and integrated into relevant development
strategies and action plans. In the near future, we are about to
finalize our work for the organization of tourism trips to Shusha.
Now our citizens will be able to make tourism trips to Shusha as
well as to other places,' he added.
In addition, regional tourism councils will be established for
the further improvement of the management framework of the tourism
sector.
Moreover, Tourist Call-Information Center (848) will provide
services in Azerbaijani, Russian and English language.
Fuad Nagiyev also informed the summit participants about work
done by the State Tourism Agency to develop the country's tourism,
legal and institutional regulations of the tourism sector in the
new 'On Tourism' law as well as preservation and protection of
cultural heritage.
'New law should be considered as an important step in the
direction of legal and institutional regulation of the tourism
sector. We believe that after the working mechanisms of the points
mentioned in the law are fully ready, industry participants will
observe positive changes and development,' said Nagiyev.
It is also planned to apply the star requirement for hotels, and
the civil liability insurance mechanism for tourism companies.
Every hotel operating in Azerbaijan must obtain a star
certificate within six months from the date of its operation.
Furthermore, the Unified Database on Tourism was presented as
part of the summit. The database reflects more than 50 indicators
in four separate categories on a periodic basis.
The summit continued with panel discussions on the topics 'State
policy and market regulation in the tourism sector: Main directions
and approaches in Azerbaijan', 'Tourism, cultural heritage and
creative industry: New challenges', 'Marketing activity in the main
target markets' and 'Current situation and plans in the tourism
industry'.
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Tags: azerbaijan tourism tourists travel fuad nagiyev state tourism agency azerbaijan tourism summit 2022