WELL, TOURIST, SHELL OUT THE MONEY!

Today no-one will argue that Azerbaijan's tourist sphere has been booming in the recent period. This is no surprise: favourable natural and climatic conditions, and an infrastructure and services which are getting better from year to year, attract a great number of tourists to our country.

Reassuring statistics…

According to statistical information, tourist services to the tune of 44.5m dollars have been provided for foreign visitors in Azerbaijan in the first five months of this year. This figure is 27.4m dollars, or 160.2 per cent, higher than in the same period last year. What does this mean? This means that the country's revenues from tourism can more than double this year. We should observe that out of the overall volume of tourist services in the first five months, 13.7m dollars, or 30.8 per cent, came from non-residents. In 2006, Azerbaijan was visited by 923,000 tourists, while one million tourists are expected in 2007. Moreover, the influx of tourists helps the further development of infrastructure. In the period from 2001 to 2005, 106 hotels were opened in the country. Ten hotels were built in 2005 alone. Another 25 tourist facilities are currently under construction.

Of course, these figures cannot but make us happy. If Azerbaijan is becoming more and more attractive to travellers each year, this means that first, all the necessary conditions have been created for the tourist business to flourish in the country and second, this plays an invaluable role in the cause of creating a positive image for the country in the international arena. According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the rate of growth in the numbers of tourists in this holiday season in Azerbaijan will be no lower than in previous years, i.e. no less than 110 per cent. It seems that foreigners are quite happy with the quality and cost of services, as well as with the assortment of tourist services available in our country right now. But does it suit us, Azerbaijani citizens?

…And biting prices

According to the same statistics, the number of travel agencies in Azerbaijan continues to grow. However, the Ministry of Tourism says that the increasing number of travel agencies does not mean at all that the quality of tourist facilities is growing. At times, the cost of accommodation, coupled with food and other services does not meet recommended standards. For several years now, representatives of the ministry have been checking the quality of services and sanitary conditions at tourist facilities, because the level of services at many of these facilities is quite low. Following these checks the ministry has given a good talking-to to businessmen who make a fortune out of the most sacred thing that an average citizen can have - a long-awaited summer holiday. At the same time, we have to point out that despite the increasing number of recreation zones, there is almost no competition between them. As a result, the prices of tourist services are not falling but, on the contrary, continue to rise.

Economists explain the causes of such a phenomenon very simply: the accompanying infrastructure has not been developed and/or the country does not have the economic prerequisites to develop domestic tourism, i.e. a sufficient number of middle-class people. But you would agree that this does not mean that the price of a holiday in our country should continue to "sting". Not only our fellow citizens, but also many foreign tourists, say that the cost of a holiday in some parts of Azerbaijan, for example Nabran, has already overtaken prices in the world famous resorts of Antalya.

For example, well-known Nabran recreation zones offer one-bedroom, double rooms for 45 to 60 manats per day - depending on whether there is air conditioning or a TV set. The price of two-bedroom, double rooms is already 80 manats and a three-bedroom, double room - 100 manats. Experience shows that at the hottest time - from 15 July to 15 August - you can pay 200 manats per day for a holiday in Nabran. However, in some places you can have a cheaper holiday - from 15 to 35 manats per day. But in this case, the price of the room does not include breakfast, dinner or supper. 

Of course, you can rent a room from local residents, but you will have to cook your own food or eat out. And prices in cafes are no different from those generally accepted. 

The state of affairs in other resorts is no better. For example, if you want to enjoy the beauties of Quba or Masalli, this will cost you no less than 250-300 manats. Near the district centre of Qusar, houses are rented out for 80-100 dollars.

For the rich

Back in Nabran, there is a myriad of not so comfortable tourist bases where you need to spend 200-300 manats for four persons for 18 days. But in this case, you will have to get your ticket from some trade union. Trade unions can also help you get a guest-house in Abseron. But the Kurort open joint-stock company of the Confederation of Azerbaijani Trade Unions told R+ that this year the cost of trips has increased by about 20 per cent. This is related not only to the rise in power tariffs, but also to the fact that salaries in our country keep rising. Yes, the staff of guest-houses are now paid more than they were last year. So this summer, a trip might cost you 250 or even 500 manats. Incidentally, in order to pay for 85 per cent of trips, the State Social Security Fund allocates a lot of money every year. But again, this holiday is only for those whose monthly income is no more than 200 manats. The staff of guest-houses and sanatoria keep saying that trips to Russia are very expensive, forgetting that salaries and allowances in Russia are much higher than in Azerbaijan. Also, it is impossible for an ordinary resident to buy a trip to guest-houses belonging to government agencies at a reasonable price, especially in summer (if applicable, you can still buy a holiday with a trade union discount - 15 per cent off the real price). But even at the full price, they still sell like hotcakes.

However, let us return to the recreation zones which many experts say should attract foreign tourists - Qax, Quba, Nabran, Ismayilli, Samaxi and others. An average Briton, for example, can afford to spend about 1,000 dollars on a holiday in Azerbaijan, especially as the most respectable recreation zones in our country  are meant for tourists from abroad (not to mention others - everyone wants to have a top class holiday, don't they?). However, there is an unshakeable rule: if our own citizens cannot afford such holidays, we cannot expect an influx of foreign visitors. According to Western travel agencies, extremely high prices for a not so comfortable tourist infrastructure, plus the need to change several planes to get to Azerbaijan, makes the arrival of large numbers of Western tourists very unlikely.

This means that the underdeveloped tourist infrastructure in picturesque regions of the country is oriented only towards the local nouveaux riches, because the prices of such a holiday are comparable with, and sometimes even more expensive than, a trip to Dubai, Turkey, Greece or Egypt.

P.S. A state programme on the development of tourism in Azerbaijan in 2007-2012 has already been submitted to the government for approval. Azerbaijani Minister of Culture and Tourism Abulfaz Qarayev says that if it is successfully implemented in Azerbaijan, the number of tourists who visit Azerbaijan could increase to 3 million people in the next 10 years. But the problem is not with the figures. Today we have to make sure that tourists who see the reality of a holiday in Azerbaijan want to visit us again, because it is this desire that testifies to the development of the tourist infrastructure in a country.