Hotel prices decrease in Azerbaijan

The prices of services in most hotels of Azerbaijan have decreased after instructions given by President Ilham Aliyev to develop tourism in the country, during a recent meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers.

This remark was made by Nahid Bagirov, the President of Azerbaijan Travel Association last week.

Bagirov told Trend that currently, Azerbaijan Travel Association together with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism are working over reducing hotel room rates.

"As a result, prices in most of the hotels have been revised and reduced to a certain amount, at least by 20-30 percent," Bagirov added.

He also said that this process is expected to continue. Due to the fact that the operational costs of brand hotels are not decided in Baku, negotiations on reducing prices are conducted only with the local hotels.

"This is a difficult process. Hotels sign agreements with the companies, and it is necessary to review the details of the contract," the association head noted.

During the Cabinet meeting held on July 13 President Aliyev highlighted the need for cheaper hotels.

“A number of world-famous hotel brands are operating in the country, particularly in Baku. Surely, they have their own price policy. We can’t interfere in this. But, the prices are also high in hotels that offer poor service. The prices are too high in the regional hotels.”

“The number of five-star hotels in Azerbaijan grows. I am glad about it, as it shows the strength of our country. It’s a prestige. However there also should be two-star, three-star hotels, as low-income people cannot come and rest in Baku,” the president said, adding that Azerbaijan itself has beautiful landscapes and one does not need to travel abroad for rest and relaxation.

President Aliyev instructed his Cabinet to speed up the procedure of issuing visas to tourists and reduce fares for hotels in the country to ensure the development of the tourism sector.

Azerbaijan has improved its tourist potential, and is now able to host over 35,000 tourists in its 530 hotels, consisting of 23 five-star, 41 four-star, 12 three-star, and 3-two star hotels.

In May, companies like Via Group, Smile Travel, Talisman Travel, Qlobus, Master Holding, Pegas Tour, L.I Travel, Simurq S, and Su-Travel acquired licenses to provide tourist services.

May also saw seven facilities licensed to operate hotel services. The licenses were granted to Premier Expo Hotel, Goy Qursagi, Olimpik Idman ve Istirahet Kompleksi, and recreation centers MM Butik Otel, Bata-Bat, Dag Havasi, and LT Otel.

The number of licensed travel agencies in Azerbaijan has reached 290 and the number of hotels has climbed to 328.

It is expected that Azerbaijan’s tourism industry will receive a fresh boost as the country plans to cut airfare, hotel prices, and facilitate its visa process, while constructing additional budget hotels.

The flow of tourists to the country is increasing every year. Overall, tourism to the Land of Fire has doubled since 2006, reaching up to 2.3 million foreign visitors in 2014.