Azerbaijan Tourism Board (ATB) witnessed an exceptional year of growth in tourism across the capital city of Baku and other key regions of Azerbaijan, with Indian visitor numbers up by 66.8 per cent. This achievement comes just over a year after ATB unveiled the “Take Another Look” campaign in India in 2018.
Other markets with significant increase in visitors include UK (27 per cent), China (64 per cent), and Germany (22 per cent). With a clear ambition to double current in-bound tourism by 2023, the increase in visitors is due to an intensive global marketing campaign as well as an increased appetite among Indian travellers to seek out lesser-known destinations.
Florian Sengstschmid, CEO, Azerbaijan Tourism Board said, “We have had an extremely successful year since we launched “Take Another Look” in India. Our global marketing and communications campaign, paired with extensive in-market engagement and investment in tourism infrastructure has driven visitor numbers from India and beyond – reaffirming that Azerbaijan has truly arrived as a preferred destination in this region.”
He further added, “India is a key market for us with immense potential due to its high number of international travellers and growing interest in the Caucasus region. With strong cultural and historical touchpoints between both countries and a simplified electronic visa process that can be done in under three hours, we aim to welcome many more Indians to discover Azerbaijan’s many offerings.”
ATB has made recent investments to develop the product portfolio of the country to meet the varying needs of the Indian market. This includes adventure activities like skiing, hiking, private jeep tours to the mountains, cultural experiences such as vineyard tours, art and music festivals, and golf for the sports enthusiasts.
Sengstschmid added, “2020 is full of possibilities as we look to attract corporate, wedding and leisure travellers from the region to Azerbaijan. We are opening new visitor centres at the unique mud volcanoes site and working on new tourism products like hiking, trekking, and birdwatching among others. We are also looking forward to welcoming a number of film crews to discover our spectacular landscapes, including summer countryside and winter ski slopes, adventure trails, and more.”
Azerbaijan Tourism Board are also working towards finalising a three-city roadshow across Delhi, Ahmadabad and Mumbai, with the objective of connecting with airlines and tour operators in the country. Indian carriers are also currently assessing the market and potential flight connectivity.
