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Akbar Novruz

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Azerbaijan’s tourism sector is experiencing a strong resurgence, positioning itself as one of the country's fastest-growing industries. With its rich cultural heritage, diverse landscapes, and strategic location, Azerbaijan continues to attract visitors from around the world. Before the pandemic, the number of foreign tourists exceeded 3 million, and while the sector has made significant progress, surpassing that milestone remains a challenge. From January to November 2024, Azerbaijan recorded 2.4 million visitors—an encouraging 24 per cent increase compared to the previous year. Given this upward trend, it is reasonable to anticipate that Azerbaijan may set a new record in 2025.

However, despite this growth, a persistent trend remains: most foreign tourists rarely venture beyond Baku. Why do visitors overlook Azerbaijan’s regions?

Azerbaijani MP Vugar Bayramov addressed this issue with Azernews, highlighting the stark contrast in tourism preferences.

"In 2024, more than 80 per cent of tourists visiting Azerbaijan preferred the city of Baku. This means that not 2 out of every 10 tourists visiting the country go outside Baku to the regions. Thus, 81.4 per cent of overnight stays by foreigners last year fell to Baku. The second most preferred region by tourists is Gusar. 4.6 per cent of those visiting Azerbaijan stayed in the said region. 4.4 per cent of foreigners preferred hotels in Gabala, 3.9 per cent in Naftalan, 3.2 per cent in Guba, 0.6 per cent in Shabran, and 1.9 per cent in other cities and regions. As can be seen, our regions are still losing out to the capital's hotels in attracting foreign tourists. Although this can be considered normal considering the infrastructure of the capital, the large difference in the number of regional overnight stays is striking. Unfortunately, the regions are still unable to fully present their tourism potential and create difficulties in attracting foreign tourists. On the other hand, most of the price of tourism services in the regions remains high. The quality still lags behind standards.

Overall, the number of overnight stays by foreigners increased by 26.0 per cent compared to 2023 to 2 million 348 thousand. This accounts for 54.8 per cent of the total overnight stays. Of the total number of overnight stays, 19.6 per cent were from India, 13.1 per cent from Russia, 7.8 per cent from Saudi Arabia, 7.3 per cent from Turkey, 5.9 per cent from the United Arab Emirates, 3.8 per cent from the United States, 2.8 per cent from Kazakhstan, 2.8 per cent from Kuwait, 2.6 per cent from Pakistan, 2.4 per cent from the United Kingdom, 2.4 per cent from Israel, 2.2 per cent from Uzbekistan, 2.1 per cent from China, 1.4 per cent from Germany, 1.0 per cent from Italy, 1.0 per cent from Georgia, and 21.8 per cent from other countries."

The preference for Baku is largely due to the capital’s well-developed infrastructure, a wide range of accommodation options, and its reputation as the country’s economic and cultural hub. However, this trend highlights a missed opportunity for regional tourism development. Factors such as high service costs, limited promotion, and an inconsistent quality of tourism facilities continue to hinder the appeal of Azerbaijan’s regions.

If Azerbaijan aims to diversify its tourism sector and encourage visitors to explore beyond Baku, addressing these challenges will be essential. Strengthening infrastructure, improving service standards, and promoting lesser-known destinations could help unlock the full potential of regional tourism, ensuring sustainable and balanced growth across the country.