In travel news from Azerbaijan, the tourism ministry there is taking steps to ramp up the country’s hospitality and tourism infrastructure dramatically. Among the many initiatives, the Azerbaijan government is offering free seminars and other training for the country’s hoteliers.
Dancers in traditional Azeri costumes at a wedding in Baku - courtesy Peter PZ
An earlier announcement, one where the Association of Tourism of Azerbaijan will cooperate with the American Hotel & Lodging Education Institute, of educating professionals in the industry, is but a small part of much wider initiative to beef up the country’s lagging tourism industry. Azerbaijan has the potential to host upwards of 20 million tourists per year, while only a fraction of that number visit today.
Azerbaijan's Ministry of Culture & Tourism site
Deputy Head of Azerbaijan Tourism Association (AzTa) Muzaffar Agakerimli has reported that AzTa is taking measures on increase of service quality in Azerbaijan’s tourism facilities. VAT allowances, accelerated tourism education, tightened tourism industry standards, and allocating resources to the tourism sector, all these efforts will help Azerbaijan achieve a far better touristic profile. However, the comments of Culture and Tourism Minister Abulfaz Garayev weigh more heavily in favor or the country’s direction:
“The level of Azerbaijan’s tourism industry service depends on us all. In return we do it within creation of Tourism Institute, holding of corresponding courses and trainings. Besides realization of these measures people on site providing tourism services, should themselves think about how to bring the services in compliance with international requirements. Heads of tourism facilities should send their employees to theses courses and provide necessary conditions.”
For those travelers searching for the exotic, and the modern, for a place few have been – and many want to visit – Azerbaijan is a wonder. The video below illustrates this better than words.
You can find more information about this news, or what”s going on in Azerbaijan, please visit the super helpful website of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan Republic here. The reader may also want to hook up with Azerbaijan via their Facebook aspect here. To learn more about tourism attractions in Azerbaijan, you may also want to visit Wiki Travel.
There's fast food too - courtesy mermaid
