With COP29 fast approaching, the State Tourism Agency of Azerbaijan is preparing for a tourist influx in the tens of thousands. With some 85,000 participants, last year’s COP28 was the largest conference to that point, but, according to Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Azerbaijan Tourism Bureau, Javanshir Bayramov, hotel reservations for Baku in November already indicate an even higher attendance this year.
“As part of COP29 preparations, hotels and other accommodations are listed on an official unified online reservation platform for the centralized lodging of future attendees. The tourism and hospitality sectors are fully prepared for the event”, Chairman of the State Tourism Agency, Fuad Naghiyev, said at the launch of the platform.
However, bookings have already been made separate from the unified platform, Bayramov confirmed earlier in June. To support the increase in footfall, new hotels, as well as other types of accommodation are being built not only in the capital Baku, where the conference will take place, but also in the surrounding region of the Absheron Peninsula and throughout the country.
“We assume that guest accommodation will be throughout the country, but especially in Baku and Absheron. In this regard, very good demand is expected for all services, not only attractions, entertainment and catering services. The entire tourism industry will benefit from this, which in turn will significantly benefit the country’s economy”, Bayramov told Azeri newspaper Report.
Besides supplementing the country’s accommodation offer, 200 existing establishments have been verified and awarded according to the National Star Classification. Those that offer the highest quality services were awarded with star ratings, while those that do not yet meet the requirements were encouraged by Naghiyev to maintain their efforts of improving so they can too soon receive a star classification.
Lastly, since authorities expect participants to take time before, after and in between conference days to explore Azerbaijan, 16 new tourist routes are being developed, covering various regions of the country and offering an introduction to ecotourism, at reserves and national parks, outdoor recreation and extreme sports.
“As part of the conference, we will have two zones – blue and green. In the green zone, there will be also tourists who want to come and learn more about the country’s tourism opportunities, including through environmental protection”, Bayramov said. “The country is not limited to traditional destinations and is actively exploring new ones. At the same time, the main thing is to attract high-income tourists who are willing to spend more money and stay in the country longer.”
While globally tourism has largely recovered to pre-pandemic levels, the number of international visitors to Azerbaijan last year was still 35% below 2019’s record of 3.2 million. On the other hand, proving the change in strategy from quantity to quality is working, tourism spent was 9% over pre-Covid figures.
Fuelled by COP29 as well as the Formula 1 race, which will take place on the Baku City Circuit in September, Bayramov expects a return to 2019 tourism levels by the end of 2024. The year seems on the right track so far, with the month of February already exceeding pre-pandemic visitor numbers, the month of May only a small percentage behind and the rest of the less well-performing months expected to be easily overcompensated by autumn’s events.
