TODAY.AZ / Business

Caspian cruises to start next year

14 June 2019 [14:16] - TODAY.AZ

By Azernews


By Leman Mammadova

Azerbaijan will become an even more attractive tourist destination after the launch of cruises in the Caspian Sea in the near future.

The organization of cruises in the Caspian Sea is planned to start from 2020, Kanan Guluzade, the spokesman of the State Tourism Agency, has told reporters.

In his words, the project on organization of cruises in the sea is carried out on the initiative of Russia and is supported by Azerbaijan and other Caspian states.

Guluzade said that the cruise ship Pyotr Velikiy (Peter the Great) is under construction in Russia.

“This issue was reviewed during the visit of President Vladimir Putin to Baku. Currently, the Azerbaijani side is negotiating with Astrakhan, the relevant maritime structures,” he noted, adding that the prices for cruises will be set by the Russian side.

He also stressed that in case of high prices, the Azerbaijani side will put forward its proposals to make them more acceptable.

Two types of cruises on the liner - short (seven to eight days) and long (13-14 days) - are planned. Short cruises will cover calls to several ports in the northern and southern part of the Caspian Sea, while long cruises will include calls to the ports of all five Caspian countries. Most of the Caspian cruises are planned to begin and end in Baku.

Earlier, a memorandum was signed between Moscow River Shipping Company OJSC and Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company CJSC.

Under the memorandum, the cruises will connect the three seas - the Caspian, Azov and Black. The ship will have a fitness room, swimming pool, restaurants, cinema etc.

At the first stage, trips will be organized on the Astrakhan-Baku route, and the route will be expanded later. For this purpose, the parties will conduct research to organize round trips on the Moscow-Baku, Astrakhan-Makhachkala-Baku, Baku-Enzeli-Noushehr-Turkmenbashi-Aktau-Astrakhan and other routes.

Until the middle of the 19th century, people viewed sea travel only as a way of transportation, not suspecting that during the voyage they could enjoy the beauty of the opening landscapes.

But nowadays the situation has changed and sea cruises have gained increasing popularity among tourists from all over the world. More importantly, they have become more affordable for a wider range of travelers.

The Caspian Sea, the Earth’s largest inland body of water, has good potential to be among the most popular destinations on the cruise tourism map.

A new wave of luxurious ships coming on stream will add on to the cruise offerings in the coming years. Therefore, Caspian countries, in particular Azerbaijan, given their favorable geographic location with access to the Caspian Sea, do not want to miss this opportunity.

URL: http://www.today.az/news/business/183527.html

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