Baku 2015 to boost tourism

/By AzerNews/

By Nigar Orujova

Azerbaijan is awaiting the Baku 2015 European Games to familiarize Europeans and the whole world with its recent development and achievements.

The Land of Fire is turning into a tourist attraction, with its ancient history and antique architecture, beautiful nature and delicious cuisine. In this regard, the hosting of the continental sport festival is turning out to be a historic event for the country.

Over 2 million tourists came to Azerbaijan last year and this year, the country expects more guests. Calculations show that the past year yielded about one billion manats (over $950,000 million) from tourism.

For this reason, visitors of Baku 2015 will benefit from a relax visa regime. All conditions have been created to make people's visit as easy as possible.

The first European Games will be profitable for Azerbaijan from an economic standpoint economy expert Vugar Bayramov said on April 30.

“Every tourist will spend at least $2,000 during European Games,” he said.

Funds that tourists will spend during the Baku 2015 are investments in the economy of the country, he said.

Moreover, the European Games contribute to an increase demand for Azerbaijan’s national currency, as during their stay in Azerbaijan tourists will exchange their money to get the manat.

"This will allow the Central Bank to reduce its currency intervention. This step is important in terms of the stability of the manat and the increase of demand for it," the expert stressed.

The greater part of the Games' expenditure has been infrastructure spending – 78 percent he said. “The infrastructure created for the European Games will be used in the future during major events and will bring additional income to the country.”

In the next coming years, the country will attract tourists with the Islamic Solidarity Games, Formula 1 race and quarterfinals and three group games of the Euro 2020.

Bayramov stressed that the first European Games is a great presentation for Azerbaijan.

“Every tourist is a potential base for the arrival of new tourists. This will contribute to a large influx of tourists into the country in the future and increase investment in the tourism sector of the country,” he added.

Current and strategic income from the first European Games is more than the cost of their conduct, Bayramov said.

This implies that Baku 2015 is not only an geopolitical and strategic project but also an economic one.

Today, Baku and Azerbaijan regions are preparing to welcome its guests. Monitoring showed that hotels and the tourism sector are ready for the Games, the Culture and Tourism Ministry reported.

Azerbaijan has the capacity to accommodate over 35,000 tourists in its 530 hotels. The country is expected to increase its tourist flow up to 5 million a year.

Azerbaijani hotels now attracts more tourists from Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Czech Republic, Japan, Belgium, Poland, Turkey, Moldova, China, Germany and Romania.

Along with the presentation of the Games in the main cities of Europe, the inaugural European Games was also covered by such media as CNN and Euronews. Moreover, broadcasting of the 17 days of competitions that will see gather 6,000 athletes from 50 countries, is expected to attract more people to Azerbaijan.