Tourist flow to Azerbaijan is increasing as Eurovision approaches

The number of Russians wishing to visit Azerbaijan to see the Eurovision Song Contest has almost doubled. As explained by the General Director of Zharkov Tour Andrey Zharkov, tourists are not afraid of high prices at local hotels for the period of the contest. It would be recalled that the event is held in Baku from May 22 to 26. The cheapest room at this period starts at €410 per day. In connection with this, travel agents advise those, who just want to see the country to postpone their trip until after the event, when the cost of accommodation goes down.

According to the estimations of UNWTO, in 2011 the inbound tourist flow to Azerbaijan amounted to about 2 million people, which is 15% more than in 2010. For the Russian market it’s difficult to call the destination popular, but in the meantime, the demand for holidays in Azerbaijan is constantly growing. According to Mr. Zharkov, if last year his company has sent there about 500 people, since the beginning of this year the number of tourists has already exceeded one thousand. These are mainly business and FIT travellers. The most popular dates are Russian bank holidays, when sightseeing tours to Baku are in demand, and summer vacations at the Caspian Sea.

"Azerbaijan is great alternative to Turkey. It will appeal to those, who are tired of crowded beaches", - believes Andrei Zharkov. At the same time, he said, high prices at hotels, as well as expensive flight (a return ticket from Moscow costs from 15 thousand roubles (€390)), is compensated by the cheapness of everything else. For example, a good dinner with drinks at an average restaurant will cost just €8 per person.

The RATA-news interviewee sees mountain skiing in Azerbaijan as quite a prospective activity. The construction of state-of-the-art all-year-round tourist resort Shahdag is going on in the republic. The resort is situated at a height of 1600 meters above the sea level, 200 km away from Baku. About 3 thousand hotel rooms, ski slopes, golf courses, spas and many more attractions will be built there.

A fly was added to the ointment by Zdravkurort Company. As reported by the operator's sales department, spa treatment in Azerbaijan might also be popular among our compatriots (local health centers offer mud treatment, which is prescribed for many diseases), but due to booking difficulties this tourist flow virtually equals zero. Last year, just one of Zdravkurort's customers went for holiday to the republic, and this year there’s been only one applicant yet.