YOUR WAY TO STAY HEALTHY

Swift reforms in the tourism sector of Azerbaijan has turned this segment into one of the leaders in the non-oil sector of the national economy. This includes the development of various segments of the tourism industry, creation of high-quality infrastructure and competent human resources.

One of the priority areas appealing to foreign tourists in Azerbaijan is health tourism, which also shows a remarkable resilience thanks to ongoing reforms.

Getting second wind

Surely, healthcare system is one of the key components of the international tourism industry. People have long taken trips in order to get healthy in other countries. This includes not only the citizens of countries with underdeveloped social services – in rich countries, medical services are sometimes so expensive that it is easier to receive similar treatment in another country. There are also geographic incentives such as climatic conditions necessary for recovery, availability of mineral water resources, etc.

With the globalisation of healthcare as one of the sectors of any economy, the number of countries investing in health tourism is increasing. They train high-class specialists in the best medical schools of the world, build comfortable clinics equipped with the latest technology. Such a policy allows the patients including foreign tourists not only to solve their health problems, but also to relax and enjoy visiting local attractions. Moreover, health tourism also implies a relatively long stay of tourists in the country, since the treatment at health resorts can take from 12 to 28 days.

Azerbaijan has enough capacity for the development of health tourism. The country has always been known for its health centres, such as those in Naftalan, Duzdagh, Gala-alty, Istisu, etc., which were once very popular throughout the post-Soviet space. Even today, they attract people who want to improve their health, but the quality and volume of healthcare services provided in them are less than desirable. This is despite the fact that several modern recreation complexes have been built only in Naftalan in recent years.

According to experts, it is also required to improve human resources and infrastructure in this area. All these issues are covered in the new Strategy for the Development of Tourism developed by the State Agency for Tourism.

According to the President of the Association of Health and Thermal Tourism of Azerbaijan, Ruslan Guliyev, the strategy contribute to restoring health resorts and sanatoriums that used to be very popular in the post-Soviet space in order to achieve a new flow of tourists to Azerbaijan thanks to innovations and marketing campaigns. "Initially, it is important to create a perfect map of health tourism centres, including thermal and health tourism centres in Naftalan, Duzdagh, Istisu, Gala-alty and so on. At the next stage, it is planned jointly with the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, the Institute of Health Resort Sciences of the Ministry of Health and other bodies to identify sources of therapeutic water deposits and create the appropriate tourism infrastructure by attracting local and foreign investors," Guliyev said.

Previously, there were more health centres in Azerbaijan, currently limited to about 10 health resorts and 30 enterprises. According to the expert, it is planned to analyse the positive and negative experiences of various countries in creating a model for the development of health tourism in order to develop a similar model for the local market.

Last year, the number of tourists who visited Naftalan reached almost 50,000 people, which is 30% more than previous indicators, with Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan being the top three countries by the number of tourists visiting the resort.

Health resort all year round

Health tourism is the key element of the action plan to make Azerbaijan a country providing year-round, rather than seasonal, tourist services. As well, it will help redirect Azerbaijani tourists, who visit various foreign health resorts, to similar ones inside the country. For example, last year, Azerbaijani citizens spent more than $1.5bn abroad, mostly for visiting resorts and sanatoriums. Resorts of Turkey, the UAE, thermal and medical centres of Ukraine and Russia are especially popular among Azerbaijanis. Moreover, according to the available data, 80% of tourists at the Truskavets resorts are citizens of Azerbaijan. A large number of Azerbaijanis also visit Karlovy Vary, Mineralny Vody, Yessentuki, Pyatigorsk, Kislovodsk, where they can stay for prolonged treatment. Our citizens are also showing interest in health resorts of Singapore, Malaysia, Central and Latin America, where they combine participation in colourful festivals and sports competitions with medical treatment.

"We are interested in developing all types of domestic tourism, which may reduce the number of tourists traveling outside the country, but this will not be a significant change, as people are always looking for new impressions at tourist spots that they have never been before. In addition, we cannot send people who want to rest abroad to the regions of Azerbaijan," R. Guliyev said.

As for specialised sanatoriums and hotels with spas and clinics, all five-star hotels in Azerbaijan provide spa services, including hotels in Guba and Gabala. Similar services are offered by 70% of the four-star hotels. Experts believe that in order to develop domestic tourism, it is necessary to build more budget hotels and identify new opportunities for thermal and health tourism, create new hospitals in these places, improve service level and ensure a balance between the price and quality of the offered services. For example, in Gala-alty, which can be compared with Truskavets, there is a five-star hotel, but no budget hotels, which could significantly develop the resort line in this region.

But there is a reverse example. In Germany, Israel, the US, the Czech Republic, and Hungary with highly developed healthcare tourism, resorts are not always affordable. In Azerbaijan, prices at health resorts like Naftalan or Duzdagh will cost you only ₼35-100 per day depending on the category, which includes three meals a day, accommodation and treatment. But it is also required to organise leisure activities for tourists, the work which is currently underway.

According to the new strategy for the development of tourism, after 2020, Azerbaijan should become a new international tourist centre. By 2025 and in subsequent years, our country should enter the top twenty countries leading in this area.

According to R. Guliyev, in order to achieve these goals, the state policy of encouragement and subsidies, as well as tax reforms, must be continued, as this will contribute to the development of business activities in tourism sector.

It is also necessary to conduct marketing researches in tourism markets, primarily in neighbouring countries, as well as in Europe and Asia, in order to determine which services can be successfully introduced and developed in Azerbaijan.

Even under existing circumstances caused by the global financial crisis, healthcare tourism is developing and profitable. It has an increasing influence on national healthcare systems and the activities of insurance companies, which prefer to pay for treatment of clients in foreign clinics. Accordingly, the focus on this segment in the new Tourism Development Strategy gives us hope that in the coming years, the health resorts of Azerbaijan will develop as rapidly as the entire tourism sector as a whole.