Azerbaijan Association of Travel Agencies sums up annual activities

Azerbaijan Association of Travel Agencies (ATAA) summed up the annual activities.

The meeting covered the association's activities focused on the expansion of the relations between the public and private sectors, steps taken in the development of inbound and outbound tourism, medical tourism as well as the promotion of the country's tourism potential in foreign markets, Azernews reports.

Speaking about the successes achieved in the tourism sector, the chairman of the State Tourism Agency Fuad Naghiyev noted that 1.3 million tourists visited Azerbaijan in January-August of this year, which indicates that the country's tourism is rapidly recovering in the post-pandemic.

"It is planned to increase the number of foreign tourists traveling to Azerbaijan to 4 million and the number of local tourists to 6 million by 2026. The share of the tourism sector in the gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to rise by 1.5 times compared to 2019 in the next four years. We are focusing on raising the share of the tourism sector in the GDP by 20 percent every year. It is also planned to increase spending by tourists to AZN10bn ($5.9bn billion)," said Fuad Naghiyev.

A video report dedicated to the results of ATAA's annual activity was also presented as part of the event.

It is worth noting that Azerbaijan has embarked upon measures for the recovery of the country's tourism sector after the pandemic.

The country is exploring the dimensions of tourism revival and carrying out major work to ensure sustainable tourism development.

Azerbaijan Tourism Summit 2022 was another turning point in the country's tourism sector.

Within the summit, members of the tourism industry, state, and private sector representatives discuss development trends in tourism.

The summit participants also set goals for the next four years. The State Tourism Agency has set up goals aimed at the improvement of Azerbaijan's tourism industry within the "2022-2026 Socio-Economic Development Strategy of the Republic of Azerbaijan".