According to the Azerbaijan Tourism Association (AzTA) India tourists are the focus of a new initiative on the heels of recent film cooperation.
AzTA Chairman Nahid Bagirov told reporters this month that the Association is currently negotiating with various Indian companies to expand on current positive growth. Mr. Bagirove went on to say:
“The Association took the initiative of filming Indian movie scenes in Baku, which ended relatively recently. When this film comes out, it will be a big advertisement for Azerbaijan. India is a big country and advertising through cinema will become a more effective method of demonstrating Azerbaijan’s possibilities. Such films will also affect the flow of tourists from India.”
The AzTA boss also pointed out Azerbaijan as a destination of interest for filmmakers, owing to the capital’s similarities to places like Paris, London, Dubai, and other iconic destinations. According to AzZA, there’s also an ongoing effort to attractvideo bloggers to Azerbaijan, in particular from Arab countries that have a wide audience in social networks.
Popular regions of Azerbaijan include Gabala, which has seen a big influx because of infrastructure improvements and modern ski resort located there. In addition, Bagirov emphasized that Azerbaijan is a very safe country, and political and economic stability play an important role in attracting tourists to the country.
With direct flights to open up between Azerbaijan and Pakistan, the potential for further touristic and business opportunities in between the two countires was also highlighted by Bagirov. Azerbaijan–Pakistan relations are considered to be of “strategic partners” nature. The strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and Pakistan has contributed to the cooperation in economic, trade, military-technical, energy, tourism and other spheres. Also mentioned in the news, was Azerbaijan taking part at the international travel and tourism exhibition “Pakistan Travel Mart” that was held in Karachi in October 2018.
As many as 17,558 Pakistani tourists came in Azerbaijan in 2017, 3,998 in 2016, 2,193 in 2015, and 1,817 tourists in 2014. According to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan, the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $8.34 million in January-September 2018. The bulk of the turnover fell on Pakistani exports to Azerbaijan. Compared to the same period of 2017, trade turnover has increased by 22.46 percent.