Tourists refuse to go to Azerbaijan — MP proposes to study the reasons

The reasons for the decrease in the tourist flow to Azerbaijan should be carefully studied, MP Gudrat Hasanguliyev said at the plenary session of the parliament on December 2 during the discussion in the second reading of the draft law "On the State Budget for 2026".

"Next year, 239 million manats will be allocated from the state budget of Azerbaijan for international events — 10 million more than for science. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of many such activities remains low. The government should pay attention to the reduction in the number of tourists compared to last year. In the first ten months of this year, 2,171,000 tourists arrived in the country, which is 1.7% less compared to the same period last year. For comparison, 4,307,000 tourists came to a much smaller Georgia, that is, twice as many. The reasons for this situation require careful study," the Report quotes the deputy.

Hasanguliyev believes that Azerbaijan should first of all strive to abolish the visa regime for citizens of the United States, European countries and Iran.

"In addition, it is necessary to find out why tourists refuse to come to the country. The situation is aggravated by the high cost of services, including air tickets, meals in establishments and hotel accommodation. The unavailability of cheap hotels directly affects the influx of tourists," he said.