ABSOLUTE TOURIST FLOW

Traditionally, there is a tourist inflow on the eve of Novruz celebrations in Azerbaijan. For some of them, traveling to our country will not be the first. It means that Azerbaijan succeeds in retaining the interest of foreign guests. In his interview with Region Plus the Chairman of the Azerbaijan Tourism Association Nahid Baghirov shared his view on how long and profitable this interest will be and what needs to be done to attract the Azerbaijani hospitality even more visitors from foreign countries.

How do you evaluate the future of tourism in Azerbaijan in general? Do you expect the growth of the tourist flow in 2018?

Without exaggeration, the future of tourism in Azerbaijan is far-reaching. We are working on various options, as we think that that the tourists flow can exceed the existing potential of tourism infrastructure. Especially this year, as we start direct flights from Bahrain, Oman, and Pakistan and expect an increase in the number of flights from Israel. Etihad Airways have already started flights to Baku. This summer the tourist flow to Azerbaijan will be at least 20% more than in 2017 although all the hotels were completely full last year. By the way, it is possible to ensure an absolute growth of the tourist flow this year but we cannot hit this indicator due to a shortage of hotels.

Undoubtedly the expansion of the Arabian direction in tourism will continue, as we can see their interest in Azerbaijan in recent years. What about tourists from other regions of the world?

With the start of Air Arabia flights to Baku, we can explore the potential of the Indian direction with huge tourist resources. We expect tourists from Bombay, where many wealthy Indians live. Indian tourists mostly prefer organized tours. They like touring in companies and groups. Large Indian companies have a tradition to organize group tours for their employees abroad. Previously, such tours were organized in Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates and other countries. Now one of the directions will be Azerbaijan. It is very profitable and convenient for our hotels, which will know in advance how many guests they expect, what program to make and other details. Another interesting moment is the tradition of Indians to conduct weddings abroad. We have already received an order for an Indian wedding for 500 people. The wedding organizer orders a plane, hotel, restaurant, etc. They already have a wedding ceremony script on Baku Boulevard. The problem is that not all our restaurants have Indian cuisine yet. This gap will need to be filled in the near future. By the way, the same applies to Chinese cuisine.

By the way, a famous Indian company expressed its desire to film one of its popular TV series in Baku. It will be an excellent opportunity to promote Baku, to open it for the hundreds of millions of Indians.

Chinese tourists make up the most of all the tourists in the world for quite obvious reasons. When will we see large groups of Chinese tourists?

Attracting tourists should keep pace with the expansion of tourism infrastructure. We cannot bring tourists more than we can accommodate. All hotels in Baku and Gabala are full for the summer period. The development of the Chinese direction also goes on, as our potential opportunities expand.

Do you think our mentality is ready to accept a massive tourist flow?

Tolerance is an important feature of any tourist state. UAE, Turkey, and other popular tourist destinations receive a large share of their income from tourism. Tourism is a strategic area that can successfully replace the oil sector. Some local media outlets expressed their fears, mostly based on a misunderstanding, by a large flow of Arabian tourists. There were even indignations that it would be better to have tourists from Europe instead of the Arabs. But to be honest, it is unlikely that a European tourist will spend that much money for his rest, accommodation, travel and shopping, as tourists from the Arab world or Russia do. Europeans prefer to stay in the capital, in a three-star hotel. In addition, we should be realistic: there is a very tough competition in the struggle for European tourists. Only one hotel in Azerbaijan, Bilgah Beach designed for only 200 seats can compete with the hotels of Tenerife or Mallorca (well-known resorts in the Canary Islands and in Spain, R+). European tourists prefer spending their money at the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, Greece, etc. They can reach the famous tourist resorts by car.

In other words, Europeans are indifferent to Azerbaijan?

No. They are interested in Azerbaijan. We are also working in the European direction. For example, we have tried our best to attract Polish tourists to Azerbaijan. It is known that about 200 thousand Poles visit Georgia for tourism annually. Unfortunately, our hotels did not cooperate with us and refused to make minimum discounts and the prices competitive.

By the way, is it possible to create something like a single tourist space Georgia-Azerbaijan?

Some progress has already been achieved in the development of combined tourism. Many Asian and European tourists prefer to tour the entire South Caucasus in one round. In the current situation, the most convenient start of the tour is Georgia, which serves as a consolidator. Tbilisi sets the tour time and enjoys the starting advantage. For example, during a 10-day tour, the tourists spend 5 days in Georgia and 2-3 days in Azerbaijan and in Armenia.

Anyway, the success of Georgia in tourism are objectively beneficial for Azerbaijan, and partnership with this country is very important and necessary.

What can be expected in terms of entertainment and holiday destinations for tourists? Are there any new creative projects?

We have a number of interesting projects. Azerbaijan has established itself as a new tourist destination, and, naturally, it is necessary to constantly develop this sphere, so that every time tourists find something new. Visits should not be limited to the Baku-Gabala-Guba route. There are investors who offer new projects, for example, the construction of a large amusement park in Baku, the development of a tourist zone in Khizi, islandic tourism. It is necessary to use all creative opportunities so that the tourists visiting Azerbaijan find their stay interesting and comfortable. By the way, there is also a sharp competitive struggle for Arab tourists. Not only from Georgia, which spends a lot of money to attract Arabs, but also from our neighbours on the eastern shore of the Caspian. Kazakhstan also invests huge money in advertising its tourist potential.

Sometimes we can see service personnel at tourist sites, who are completely unprepared for communication with foreigners. What do you do to improve this situation?

Yes, we do. For instance, we have trained 50 guides who speak different languages ​​- from Hebrew to Spanish. Illiterate service personnel at tourist sites can greatly damage a reputation of the country. In the early years, Arab tourists admired our hospitality and generally the attitude towards them. They complained that in other countries, which they traditionally visited, cases of fraud were frequent. Unfortunately, this was observed in Azerbaijan after a while as well. Some local entrepreneurs simply do not understand that they are thus cutting the branch on which they sit.

Speaking of discontent, I think there were some complaints from Iranian tourists. It seems that we do not even have guides to cafes and restaurants in Persian…

Iran has a huge potential for outbound tourism. For certain reasons, our southern neighbours are most attracted by cafes, restaurants, night clubs of Baku. Unfortunately, I guess due to economic problems, we will have less tourists from Iran this year. They are going to raise tax on people leaving the country. I believe that in such a situation our hotels should take a reciprocal marketing move and announce discounts in order to keep the tourist flow from Iran.

By the way, after the Iranians began to visit Azerbaijan massively during the Novruz holiday, most brand hotels tripled prices. Because of the incorrect price policy of hotels, the development of a whole tourist direction suffers. We do not say that hotels should receive their guests for free. But hotels should pursue a flexible pricing policy before raising the level of the entire tourist system, establishing a multi-vector and sustainable tourist flow. I think that the state can to some extent help in this situation like with an introduction of tax incentives for hotels.

Lately, we can hear a lot about the launch of cruise tourism in the Caspian Sea.

This is a new type of tourism for the Caspian countries. There are still many controversial issues. For example, according to the idea, the Iranian port of Anzali should be one of the en-route stops. But will the Iranian side agree to accept a ship in its territory with a casino and alcoholic beverages freely sold on-board? Will there be any Iranian tour operators selling tours to such cruise liners? In principle, the organizers of cruise tours can use the Israeli experience, when a casino on a ship operates in neutral waters... But all these issues still need to be discussed. In general, marine tourism is a very interesting and attractive type of recreation. And we should create modern recreational zones meeting the world standards.