Baku, Azerbaijan, March 24. The Confederation
of Entrepreneurs of Azerbaijan (CEA) is considering a new project
related to the tourism potential of East Zangezur, Trend reports.
This was announced at a meeting of the working commission on
tourism and services operating within the Confederation.
Chairman of the commission CEA Ruslan Guliyev shared his
thoughts on the work done to promote the tourism potential of our
country abroad and the four international events in which they will
participate in 2025. He mentioned that a new project related to the
tourism potential of East Zangezur is planned.
The meeting was informed about the new statute of the
commission, successes in training in the sector. In particular, the
establishment of the Academy of Gastrotourism with 12 specialties
in Sumgait was noted by the Commission.
The Commission members discussed the state of the sector in
2025, and the upcoming expectations. It was noted that in March
this year, the number of tourists arriving in our country in
connection with the Novruz holiday was less than last year.
The deputy chairman of the commission, Jeyhun Ashurov, made
proposals for the development of regional tourism. According to
him, it is necessary to create more reasons for more tourists to
come to the country. Noting that only one out of eight
international airports of Azerbaijan – Baku airport named after
Heydar Aliyev – functions effectively, he emphasized development of
airports in the regions.
In general, he noted that Azerbaijan achieved a 30 percent
growth in tourism in 2024 compared to 2023, but did not reach the
level of 2019.
The commission also released the results of a survey conducted
on the state of the sector. Based on the results, issues such as
shortage of professional staff, investment climate, tax regulation,
opening tourism facilities for investment, access to finance, and
public procurement are at the top of the list.
The meeting also discussed that an appropriate investment
climate is needed for the construction of one-, two- and three-star
hotels in the regions, as well as taking appropriate steps against
those who sell tourism services through social media without
official registration.