WITH A SEA VIEW

For many years now both the government and potential investors have been focussing on tourism as one of the promising and fairly profitable spheres of the non-oil sector in Azerbaijan's economy. Today there are all the prerequisites for the full-scale development of this industry - the upgrading of the road and transport infrastructure throughout the country, communal services are operating normally, we have modern hotels, hospitals and so forth.

Azerbaijan's sufficiently fortunate geographical location provides the opportunity to organise very many of the well-known and popular forms of holidays for tourists in the country. All the more so since the republic's increasing economic well-being is making it ever more possible to implement profitable cost-effective projects to set up major tourist centres and develop new trends in this sphere. The Shahdag ski resort is the most prominent example of this.

Caspian cruise

Recently cruising has become an extremely popular and upmarket type of holiday.

It would probably be no exaggeration to say that today Caspian Sea cruises are most common in Azerbaijan. The potential for sea cruises has not been exhausted. The Caspian Sea is the world's biggest lake, so why not take advantage of that to attract holiday-makers to cruise on it? Why shouldn't Azerbaijan become a trailblazer in this business?

In principle it is would be quite realistic to promote cruising and holidays on water in our country. This branch of tourism envisages travelling on vessels, including excursions along the coast, sightseeing in ports and also various types of entertainment on sea- and river-going liners.

It takes a great deal of effort and finance to promote cruising. So, it is expedient to set up a special company or companies to organise cruises. In particular, certain types of vessels are needed, the ports visited on the cruises have to be able to accommodate the vessels, and a tourist infrastructure such as hotels, boarding houses and beaches among other things are needed.

Moreover, plans to promote cruising may come up against the problem of the Caspian Sea's indefinite status and the issues ensuing from that. At the same time there is an opportunity to develop combined sea and river cruises. Thus, cruise liners in the Mediterranean and Black Seas would be able to sail into the Caspian along a system of canals and pay visits to the Caspian countries during the navigation season. This would make it possible to offer an interesting trip, albeit a long one, which would take in a large number of countries. 

For tourists attractive features of cruising on the Caspian are the pleasant climate and the varied nature and landscape of the Caspian countries with their sandy beaches, spas and medicinal mud resorts along the coast, which create good conditions for a holiday or convalescence.

Passenger transport needs a boost

At the present time each of the Caspian countries is implementing major transport projects, is actively seeking to increase cargo transport, particularly by sea, but even now passenger transportation is lagging behind. An important step in developing this type of transportation is the combining of the efforts of the Caspian countries and also the greater activity of the private sector. Naturally it is the upgrading of port infrastructure and the addition of new vessels to the passenger fleet that is a priority.

Of late ferry cruises have been enjoying great popularity, mainly because they are short and economical. The modern ferries used for cruising are vessels with numerous decks. Cruises like this are popular on the Baltic Sea. There is plenty of opportunity to develop cruises on ferries on the Caspian, but at the present time combined international passenger trips on ferries are only operating on the Baku-Aktau (Kazakhstan) and Baku-Turkmenbashi (Turkmenistan) routes. There are only 13 vessels in the passenger fleet, but many more would be needed to provide proper services for the tourists. Moreover, not only sea- and river-going ferries are needed, but passenger only vessels equipped with all modern conveniences so that passengers can enjoy their holiday during the voyage.

To put it in a nutshell, only 9,800 passengers were transported by sea in January to August compared with the same period last year and the number of passengers carried by sea transport was 3.6 per kilometre compared with 4.4 in January to August 2012.

So, it has to be admitted that today passenger transport on the Caspian Sea is poorly developed, but there is great potential for making use of this part of the economy. The implementation of ambitious projects on Azerbaijan's shore of the Caspian, such as the setting up of the "Aypara" shopping mall and hotel complex and the residential complex on the Khazar [Xazar] Islands, may revive tourism on the Caspian, thereby creating the conditions for the development of water transport, in particular water taxis. Then the number of passengers transported by sea would increase noticeably, so that the financial benefits offered by this form of business will make themselves felt. 

Outside the centre

In spite of all the problems, it would be unfair to say that nothing is being done in developing the sea transportation infrastructure in Azerbaijan. A new international sea port is under construction in the village of Alat 65 km to the south of Baku. The first stage of the project envisages the building of two ferry and three cargo berths to accommodate container ships, "roll-on-roll off" ferries and ordinary (universal) dry cargo vessels. The second stage envisages the construction of three cargo berths and the third stage two more cargo berths. The port will be able to handle up to 11.6 million tonnes of cargo every year. According to Azerbaijan's deputy transport minister, Musa Panahov, the ferry terminal in the centre of Baku will be transferred to the new port which is under construction by the end of 2014. The terminal for dry cargo vessels is to be transferred to 
In turn the dismantling of the old port infrastructure will allow that part of the esplanade park to be equipped with services and utitlities, which will make a positive impact on the appearance of the capital's centre. Moving the sea port out of the centre of the city will make it possible to handle a greater volume of cargo more easily and to broaden the country's potential as a transit country.

After the old port infrastructure has been dismantled, it will be expedient to retain Baku's Sea Terminal and berths on the present site (in the zone where the international port is) to accommodate passenger vessels. This will not spoil the aesthetic appearance of the esplanade park and will ensure passengers and tourists direct access to the centre when they arrive. 

Thus, the development of passenger sea transport, of direct sea links for passengers among the countries of the Caspian and the organisation of cruises will complete the chain of transport sector development. Besides the additional income it will bring in, it will be a source of new co-operation trends for the Caspian countries, will make it possible for foreign visitors to get to the Caspian and turn its waters into a tourist hub.