Tuesday, February 04, 2020

Indian tourist traffic to Azerbaijan up by 67 % in 2019

Mumbai: When Azerbaijan Airlines launched direct flights connecting Baku with Delhi, last year, the twice-a-week flights appear to have gained in popularity with Indians as tourist arrivals from India into this mountainous country jumped from 39,000 in 2018 to 65,000 arrivals in 2019. Though the direct flights have stopped for now, the tourist traffic from India will only be on the rise, according to Azerbaijan Tourism Board which expects a 30 % jump in tourist arrivals this year. If airlines launch direct flights, then the numbers would double, said Florian Sengstschmid, CEO of Azerbaijan Tourism Board (ATB), who was in Mumbai on Monday.
"We have ongoing negotiations with Indian airlines, but there is nothing concrete as of now,'' said Sengstschmid, adding that an incentive scheme for airlines is currently under review. Azerbaijan gets majority of its tourists from metros like Delhi, Mumbai followed by Bengaluru, Ahmedabad. The ATB officials say this December and January, Baku has witnessed a sizable presence of Indian tourists. Winter temperatures in Baku rarely dip below zero degree celsius and stay around 5 to 10 degree celsius. But then again, Azerbaijan is home to nine out of eleven existing climate zones, making it an attractive destination for ski-holidayers as well.
In the past one year, Indian visitor numbers have gone up by 67% . According to ATB data, in the past three years, tourist traffic from India to Azerbaijan has been seen a growth spurt from 14,000 tourists in 2017 to 39,000 in 2018. It started with mainly MICE travel (business travellers) into Azerbaijan.
04/02/20 Manu V/Times of India
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