State Tourism Agency says four million tourists expected to visit Azerbaijan by 2026 [VIDEO]

Chairman of the State Tourism Agency (STA) Fuad Naghiyev has addressed the 19th Azerbaijan International Tourism and Travel Fair - AITF 2023.

In his speech, he emphasized that the State Tourism Agency focuses on turning the Karabakh region into a tourist destination, Azernews reports.

"Design works are being carried out in Tugh village, Hadrut settlement, around Shahbulag fortress in Aghdam in order to create the primary tourism infrastructure. The construction of a tourism complex around the Suqovushan reservoir is underway. We believe that tourism will be one of the leading areas to ensure the livelihood of our citizens", he added.

In his speech, the chairman of the State Tourism Agency also touched upon the development of foreign and domestic tourism.

"We support the active and efficient activity of foreign tourists to our country. Currently, our main goal is to restore the pre-pandemic numbers and ensure more flexible activity than before. Around 1.6 million citizens of foreign countries visited Azerbaijan last year. That's 50 percent of pre-pandemic numbers. In 2026, we aim to increase the number of foreign tourists to four million, and the number of domestic tourists to six million.

He also stressed the importance of AITF 2023 in the development of networking and strengthening tourism ties.

"The income from tourism in the GDP is expected to increase by 1.5 times. At the same time, we predict a 20 percent increase in the tourism sector. The main objective is to promote Azerbaijan as a sustainable, quality tourism destination. In this direction, large-scale works are being carried out by the Azerbaijan Tourism Board," said Fuad Naghiyev.

The AITF 2023 draws attention to the tourism industry after a three-year hiatus caused by the pandemic.

Traditionally, the fair gathers representatives of the tourism industry, including national and regional tourism organizations and government agencies from different countries.

The Azerbaijan International Tourism and Travel Fair serves as a major platform, which makes it possible to establish new contacts, significantly expand the sales geography, learn about the latest innovations and trends in the industry, as well as find new partners and customers.

Apart from that, the travel fair highlights the importance of Azerbaijan as an attractive travel destination and demonstrates the hospitality of the Azerbaijani people to foreign participants and visitors.

Outbound tourism, domestic tourism, inbound tourism are on the agenda of AITF 2023.

The travel fair highlights medical and health tourism, cruises, airlines, national and regional tourism departments, ministries, travel agencies and tour operators, etc.

This year, Bulgaria, a traditional participant of the exhibition, acts as the AITF 2023 General Sponsor, while Uzbekistan is a partner country.

The 19th Azerbaijan International Tourism and Travel Fair is organized by Caspian Event Organisers with the support of the Small and Medium Business Development Agency (KOBIA), Azerbaijan State Tourism Agency and Azerbaijan Tourism Board.