Azerbaijan Welcomes Growing Number of Uzbek Visitors

The Azerbaijani State Statistics Committee has said that Azerbaijan welcomed 18,200 visitors from Uzbekistan between January and May 2024, marking an 8.6 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.

The number of Uzbek travelers rose by 1,444 from 16,756 tourists recorded during the first five months of 2023, The Caspian Post reports via local media.

Tourism remained the dominant reason for travel, with 10,814 visitors arriving for leisure-an 11 per cent rise from 9,738 tourists recorded a year earlier.

Demographic data showed that 64.6 per cent of Uzbek tourists were men, while 35.4 per cent were women. The majority-10,563 travelers-arrived by air, while 251 arrived via sea routes.

Short-term stays were most common, with 4,839 tourists staying for one to three nights. Overall, Uzbek visitors accounted for 54,025 overnight stays during the reporting period. These were distributed as follows:

20,759 nights in hotels or similar accommodations,

4,981 nights in rented properties,

9,706 nights in the homes of friends or relatives,

and 18,579 nights in personal or family-owned apartments.

The capital, Baku, alone accounted for 33,730 of the total overnight stays, underscoring its popularity among Uzbek tourists.

Spending data revealed that Uzbek tourists contributed 18.7 million Azerbaijani manats ($11 million) to the local economy over the five-month period. This included:

8.9 million manats ($5.2 million) on transportation,

3.3 million manats ($1.9 million) on accommodation,

3.4 million manats ($2 million) on food and beverages,

124,300 manats ($73,117) on cultural events,

2,100 manats ($1,235) on travel packages,

108,200 manats ($63,647) on sports and entertainment,

2.1 million manats ($1.2 million) on shopping (including souvenirs),

and 787,100 manats ($463,000) on other miscellaneous expenses.