State Tourism Agency: COP29 to unveil Azerbaijan's potential

Deputy Chairperson of the Azerbaijan State Tourism Agency Azada Huseynova has said that COP29 will unveil Azerbaijan's potential in such spheres as ecotourism, agritourism and sustainable tourism.

Huseynova made these remarks during a press conference dedicated to the accommodation of foreign guests and the presentation of tourism opportunities during the COP29 event, Trend reports.

“COP29 will promote the recognition of our country's history, culture, tangible and cultural national heritage. Moreover, the conference will raise people’s awareness of Azerbaijan’s broad potential in such new spheres as ecotourism, agritourism and sustainable tourism,” she said.

Huseynova also noted that the State Tourism Agency has begun to inspect hotels on the eve of COP29.

“More than 300 hotels in Baku and Sumgayit cities were inspected, about 200 of them got star ratings. About 40 hotels that did not meet the standards for star ratings were given time to correct the deficiencies. The hotels in other Azerbaijani districts are also planned to be inspected,” she said.

“There is a document to encourage an investment process in the Azerbaijani tourism sector, and we are working to expand it,” Huseynova noted.

She said that for this purpose, first of all, a legislative framework must be created.

“The agency is working in this sphere. We have several incentive mechanisms, but we are also working on new ones. The work is underway to introduce some tax benefits,” Huseynova added.

“Moreover, the unified online booking system will be launched for guests who will arrive in Azerbaijan to participate in the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change [COP29],” she said.

She noted that the booking system was developed by an international company which was a partner during the previous COP events.

“Currently, the system includes more than 100 hotels with a star rating and several accommodation complexes in Baku, Sumgayit and the Absheron region. Entrepreneurs make their own decisions about setting prices for accommodation,” Huseynova added.

The online booking system will be launched at 17:00 (GMT+4).

To recap, Baku will host the 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29).

A group of Eastern European countries has chosen Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to host COP29 climate talks next year.

Earlier, Bulgaria withdrew its candidacy to host the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in favour of Azerbaijan.

Moreover, Baku and Yerevan agreed to support each other at some international venues. In a joint statement, Armenia said it would support Azerbaijan's bid to host the COP29 summit.

The conference is being held in rotation by five UN regional groups, and Eastern Europe will take part next year.