WTO chief sees bright prospects for Azeri tourism
By Nigar Orujova, AzerNews Staff Writer
Tourism plays an important role in the Azerbaijani economy and the country's location and huge tourism potential create good opportunities to develop this sector, World Tourism Organization (WTO) Secretary General Taleb Rifai told the media on a visit to Baku.
Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan located on the Caspian shore, last week hosted the two-day international conference, "Taste of the Silk Road: Cooking, Culture and Tourism", organized by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Culture and Tourism, WTO and the Azerbaijan Association of Tourism.
The conference was dedicated to highlighting the tremendous potential of the Silk Road region for intangible cultural tourism, Azerbaijan's state-run Azertag news agency reported.
The Silk Road or Silk Route is a modern term referring to a historical network of interlinking trade routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass that connected East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and European world, as well as parts of North and East Africa.
The Baku conference was attended by the WTO's Taleb Rifai, Iran's Vice President and Head of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHTO) Seyyed Hassan Mousavi, local and foreign governmental and non-governmental organizations and representatives of the world's leading media.
Rifai told reporters that holding the conference in Azerbaijan is not accidental, as Azerbaijan is an important country for the WTO.
Azerbaijan is a member of the WTO Silk Road program, which includes 28 countries, whose purpose is to ensure the development of tourism throughout the Silk Road route by making joint efforts.
The conference organized workshops on "Food and Tourism: Global inclinations and chances", "The establishment of the Silk Road as leading network of culinary venues" and "Food for development". Participants discussed a range of topics, including "The Silk Road in the global tourism media " and "Digital world: Social media and travel".
The conference featured a presentation of the cuisine of Azerbaijan, Turkey, Spain and Italy, master classes conducted by chefs, and tasting of Azerbaijani and Georgian wines.
Azerbaijani Minister of Culture and Tourism Abulfas Garayev said, "Unfortunately, as a result of the occupation policy of Armenia, the Karabakh cuisine cannot be assessed on the ground. Nevertheless, our chefs are doing a lot of work on its development."
The Iranian VP made a proposal on creating a visa-free zone similar to Schengen among the Great Silk Road countries, which was welcomed by the conference participants.
"This will be helpful for developing the Silk Road countries' tourism, simplify travel and attract tourists," Hassan Mousavi said. "This will also encourage networking and peace-making processes in the region."
Mousavi added that the Silk Road countries should capitalize on their potential for tourism development. Mousavi also suggested creating the Silk Road countries' General Assembly, and holding a meeting of the Assembly in Iran next year. He suggested declaring 2014 as the Silk Road year, celebrating the Silk Road day and creating a Silk Road atlas.
During his visit to Azerbaijan WTO Secretary General Rifai met with President Ilham Aliyev to discuss the development of tourism in the country.
Rifai also met with Minister Garayev and discussed issues of cooperation between the WTO and Azerbaijan.
The Azerbaijani government encourages the Silk Road development. "Tourists mainly visit the areas located along the Silk Road," Garayev told the local press. "Naftalan is an important part of Azerbaijan. Lankaran is a region that has a special place in our cuisine. Nakhchivan is implementing large-scale projects for the development of tourism. Therefore, it is important to show these regions in the international arena."
Garayev noted that the first half of 2012 saw a seven percent growth in the tourism sector as compared with the first half of 2011 due to the development of tourism. New hotels and tourist camps open in the country every year. The level of service in the tourism sector is also improving.
The Silk Road conference will contribute to further development of the domestic tourism sector, Garayev stressed.