Industry News

Azerbaijan third amongst CIS countries in World Economic Forum ranking of tourism attractiveness

A colorfully illustrated article, “Caspian Dubai”, on the gems of tourism in Azerbaijan was published in the January issue of the Russian version of GEO magazine.  The interest of this highly respected European publication in Azerbaijan, together with a newly created guide to the country published by the Russian magazine ‘Vokrug Sveta’ (Around the World), should be regarded as milestones in the promotion of Azerbaijan as a tourist destination.     
Alexander Karavaev
The tourism business in Azerbaijan is not yet a leader in terms of revenue, but it is growing very rapidly and overtaking many neighbouring countries.  According to statistics from the World Economic Forum (WEF), which publishes an annual ranking of the tourism attractiveness of 133 countries (The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report), in 2008 revenue from Azerbaijan’s tourism business amounted to at least $509 million.  On the basis of this figure, Azerbaijan came third after Russia and Georgia in the ranking.  For the quality of its tourism legislation, Azerbaijan was placed 47^th in the world, and 84^th for the state of its infrastructure and environment.  In 2009, the position of Azerbaijan in the ranking changed very little (it managed to climb three places to 77^th in the global ranking).

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