The presented article reviews information about the current state of the tourism industry in Azerbaijan, development trends and strategies for the future. As a result of the research, it turned out that compared to the period before the pandemic, in subsequent years there was a decrease in incoming tourism in Azerbaijan. Since 2023, growth in this area has continued. It was found that the number of tourists arriving in January and May 2024 continued to increase compared to previous years. COP29, which will be held in November 2024, is expected to make a greater contribution to the development of the tourism industry in our country.
Key words: Azerbaijan, COP29, COVID-19, tourism, pandemic.
В представленной статье рассмотрена информация о современном состоянии туристической отрасли в Азербайджане, тенденциях развития и стратегии на будущее. В результате проведенных исследований выяснилось, что по сравнению с периодом до пандемии в последующие годы в Азербайджане наблюдалось снижение въездного туризма. Начиная с 2023 года рост в этой сфере продолжился. Установлено, что количество туристов, прибывших в январе и мае 2024 года, продолжало увеличиваться по сравнению с предыдущими годами. Ожидается, что COP29, которая пройдет в ноябре 2024 года, внесет больший вклад в развитие туристической отрасли в нашей стране.
Ключевые слова: Азербайджан, COP29, COVID-19, туризм, пандемия.
It has already been accepted as a fact that tourism has an important role in international economic relations, in reducing unemployment and poverty in the country, in organizing leisure time, in shaping the outlook and in general in the socio-economic development of the country [1]. This has a positive effect on the increase in the number of tourists coming to the country and the number of visitors within the country and the increase in the budget. [3]. Despite the severe impact of the widespread COVID-19 pandemic on the tourism industry since the beginning of 2020, the revival of this sector of the economy has recently begun [1]. Undoubtedly, this area will continue its development as the most promising area of economic activity. Because tourism exists as a separate sector of the economy in Azerbaijan.
According to the report of the World Travel and Tourism Council, Azerbaijan was among the 10 countries with the fastest growing tourism in 2010–2016. The state of Azerbaijan also recognizes that tourism is related to people's well-being. People try to consume more, spend less time at work, integrate more with nature, get acquainted with people's material and spiritual cultures. All this encourages people to travel to other countries as tourists. Any economic, epidemiological, military, natural and other events can limit tourism activities in the country for a short time. Although the Covid-19 pandemic has limited international relations for a while, it was thought that such restrictions would be short-lived, and they did.
It should be noted that the number of international tourists has steadily increased over the past 50 years and reached 1.5 billion in 2019. In that year, a total of 3.2 million foreign visitors visited our country. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has prevented this growth. Only starting from the second half of 2021, tourism has entered its recovery period [1].
Between 2022 and 2032, global travel and tourism gross domestic product is projected to grow by an average of 5.8 percent per year, outpacing the overall economy's expected growth of 2.7 percent per year. The development of the tourism sector brings many advantages to the countries both economically and socially. Starting from 2022, the State Tourism Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan is further improving the work of improving the important normative-legal base, state regulation, control and coordination in the direction of the unified state policy in the field of tourism [4]. The adopted Tourism Strategy for 2023–2026 defines a comprehensive and strategic framework that will guide the development of tourism in the country for the next 4 years. The strategy presented the strategic vision, main principles and 9 basic priorities that define the development path of tourism in the country. These include:
— State administration in the field of tourism,
— Adjustment potential,
— Destination development, cultural heritage and communities,
— Brand, marketing and communication,
— Tourism products and experiences,
— Digitization, technology and innovation,
— Data-based analysis and research,
— Investments and public-private partnership in tourism,
— Human resource development.
Sustainability, security, private sector involvement, accessibility and inclusion are overarching factors that must be considered in every strategic priority. Currently, five regional Destination Management Plans covering the main tourism regions of Azerbaijan and forming the basis of the special State Program in this direction are being implemented. It is a good thing that 965,556 foreign citizens came to Azerbaijan in five months of this year (Photo).
As can be seen from the picture, the number of people who visited the country in May was 239,272, and this trend continues. In January-May of this year, the total number of Azerbaijani citizens who went to foreign countries increased by 27.5 % compared to the same period last year and reached 808,100 people. Mysterious natural diversity, recreation centers that meet world standards, modern hotels, places to visit, summits, conferences, symposiums, international sports competitions, and other international events hosted by Baku in recent years increase the tourism potential of our country. Infrastructure that meets today's requirements, 6 international airports, modern roads, railways, hotels, resorts, summer and winter skiing, sea resorts, medical tourism, etc. attracting visitors. Winter tourism centers such as Shahdag and Tufandag, as well as Naftalan, have become a major tourist center. Other healing places, Duzdag Healing Center in Nakhchivan has an attractive place for tourists. Based on the changes made in the Tax Code, tax concessions for tourism subjects (hotels, hotels and sanatoriums) have been provided for the purpose of developing regional tourism and reducing fixed tax costs. For this purpose, it was decided to reduce property tax by 75 percent for 3 years from January 1, 2024 for real estate used in hotel, hotel and sanatorium activities in cities and regions [5]. In addition to all this, the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change — (COP 29), the 19th session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol, and the 6th session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement, which will take place in our country this year There is no doubt that it will make an important contribution to the development of tourism in our country. COP 29 should be evaluated as a political, economic, and ecologically important event for our country. This measure will increase the political image of our country, and will lead to the expansion of our country's opportunities for alternative and renewable, green energy among other countries. It will increase the interest in green and alternative, renewable energy in our country and will have a significant impact on the development of that field. This year, actions within the framework of «Solidarity for a Green World» and COP29 will stimulate the processes of climate change in the last 200 years, the emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-producing gases, the analysis of forecasts in this field, and the acceleration of tourism. In addition, the manifestations of climate changes, migration and adaptation measures, the application of low-carbon and resource-saving technologies against climate changes, and the use of alternative energy types can be mentioned as measures that contribute to the development of this field. This will further increase the interest of countries in Azerbaijan. The organization of COP 29 in our country will also have a positive impact on tourism opportunities. So, after events such as «Formula-1" competitions, «Eurovision», hosting the European Games, in 2019, about 3 million tourists visited our country. Therefore, the COP 29 event will prove that there are potential opportunities for all types of tourism in Azerbaijan. COP 29 is also valuable as an event to promote our country. The holding of this event will increase the political and economic prestige of our country. COP 29 also envisages the implementation of economic aid and support for developing countries.
It should be noted that starting from the 90s, the leading countries of the world put forward various ideas and challenges to prevent climate change. The most significant event in this field is the Paris Climate Agreement signed in 2015 (COP 21). In 2016, along with leading world states, Azerbaijan also ratified this agreement. With that, Azerbaijan assumed a number of obligations. First of all, this shows that Azerbaijan is one of the pioneers of modern challenges and a country sensitive to global problems. This measure also imposes a responsibility on Azerbaijan in a good sense, so that other countries get acquainted with our achievements in the environmental field. At COP events, not only current problems are discussed, but also expected problems are focused on. Therefore, not only us, but civilization as a whole is waiting for interesting discussions in Baku this autumn. COP 29 is not the first international environmental event to be hosted by Azerbaijan. Prior to that, our country hosted a number of international events, most recently the 7th UN Energy Forum in 2016 in Baku. Azerbaijan is also known as a country that implements ecological measures and ecological projects, as in other fields. COP29 should also be seen as an opportunity to boost the development of tourism. Baku will be the center of the world in two weeks and the city will welcome approximately 70–80 thousand foreign guests. One of the most important positive results of the conference is the further improvement of the quality of tourism services in the country. Of course, hundreds of new professionals are being trained in the field of tourism and logistics. At the same time, the quality of tourism and government services related to solving many problems is improving. A qualitative change is also taking place in the field of regional tourism. New routes and directions of tours are already being finalized. It is expected that after the COP 29 events, there will be great progress in the development of ecological tourism in Azerbaijan. As is known, ecological tourism ranks first among the types of tourism in the world. Azerbaijan, which has a wide tourism potential, has the opportunity to receive more than 5 million tourists a year. Today, about 800 large and small hotels operate in our country. Last year alone, they received more than 2 million foreign visitors from 187 countries, which is 30.2 percent more than in 2022. Tourism agencies have already begun to take into account issues such as accommodation of foreign guests coming to Baku in connection with COP 29 in hotels, organization of their rest, familiarization with our capital. They know that Baku will be the ecological center of the world on November 11–24, and everyone's eyes will be on Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan will not be blinded by the guests on those days when the ways of saving humanity from disasters related to climate change will be discussed. One way to green the world and save humanity is through ecotourism. Ecological tourism, being sustainable, includes care and attention to the environment. The difference of this type of tourism from others is that it aims to protect the environment and creates conditions to enjoy nature. This is one of the activities of COP 29. As ecotourism and COP29 serve the same purpose, the tourism industry of Azerbaijan takes this direction into account. Within the framework of the forum, important segments of climate change — reduction of carbon emissions, transition to «green energy», ensuring the use of «green energy» and other issues will be in focus. By hosting these and other events, Azerbaijan proved that it is very interested in the formation of the «green economy». Azerbaijan is taking successful steps in this direction today. Summarizing all the above, we can come to the following conclusion:
- At the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), important steps will be taken to reduce the effects of climate change on tourism.
- COP29 will create an opportunity to recognize the historical, cultural, material and cultural national heritage of our country. In addition, the conference will raise awareness about Azerbaijan's vast potential in new fields such as ecotourism, agrarian and sustainable tourism.
References:
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- Imrani Z. T., Bayramova G. Ch., Mammedova I. Y. Existing problems in the market of tourist services in Azerbaijan and their elimination (in Azerbaijani language).// Zh.: Geography and natural resources. Works of the Geographical Society. Baku‑2022 No. 1 (16) p. 95–101.
- International tourist traffic fell by 85 % in 2021 compared to 2019. [Electronic resource] URL https://www.atorus.ru/news/press- centre centre/new /56167.html (access date 23.05.2024).
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