Capital to host International Badminton tournament

One of the classification competitions for the Summer Olympic Games to be held in Tokyo, Japan in 2020 is the International Challenge category badminton tournament. The tournament included in the calendar of the International Badminton Federation 2019 will be held at the Baku Sports Palace.

The total prize fund of the competition, which determines winners of five categories and prize winners, will be $25,000. This is the first big badminton tournament to be held in Azerbaijan.

The Olympic licensed competition will also be a stage in further popularization and development of badminton in Azerbaijan. Moreover, it will open a new page for young people to experience this sport.

Today, Azerbaijan is known as a sporting nation in the world. During the last 10 years Azerbaijan has successfully hosted nearly 300 international sports events, including European and world championships, which have increased the international Olympic family’s confidence in Azerbaijan.

As many as 756,800 people were accommodated in hotels and hotel-type enterprises in Azerbaijan in January-June of this year, the State Statistical Committee told Trend on September 20. The number of overnight stays amounted to 1,288,900.

Thus, this year the number of persons accommodated in hotels increased by 25.8 percent, the number of overnight stays – by 19.3 percent, and the income increased by 22.3 percent compared to the same period of 2017.

As many as 62 percent of overnight stays were registered in Baku, 9.7 percent – in Gabala, 5.1 percent – in Gusar, 4.5 percent – in Naftalan, 3.6 percent – in Guba, 3.4 percent – in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, 1.5 percent – in Khachmaz, 1.1 percent – in Agstafa, and 9.1 percent – in the hotels of other regions.

The State Statistical Committee noted that 935,200 overnight stays in Azerbaijan in the reporting period accounted for foreigners and stateless persons, and this is 72.6 percent of the total number of overnight stays. As many as 14.3 percent of them accounted for the UAE nationals, 14.1 percent – citizens of Russia, 6.6 percent – of Iran, 4.5 percent – of Turkey, 4.3 percent – citizens of Saudi Arabia.

The committee also noted that the revenues of hotels in the first half of this year amounted to 167 million manats ($97.95 million), 66.3 percent of which were received from the provision of room services, 23.8 percent – from the food sale services, including beverages, 3.8 percent – from treatment and health services, and 6.1 percent – from other services.

Presently, Azerbaijan is engaged in the efforts to diversify the non-oil economy, and tourism industry is one of the promising sectors to contribute to the achievement of this ambitious goal. Tourism in Azerbaijan is developing rapidly, since the government carries out comprehensive activities to support the flow of foreign visitors.

Thanks to the wonderful climate of Azerbaijan, its culture, cuisine, nature, attractions, and diversity, more and more tourists visit the country every year. Also, hospitality of Azerbaijani people, the capital with its super modern and ancient buildings draw the attention of all tourists visiting this South Caucasus country. The tourists mainly visit the most popular destinations – Baku, Sheki, Gabala, Guba and many other cities.

As for the tourism infrastructure, currently there are hundreds accommodation facilities operating in Azerbaijan. They are of any price range, starting from just $6-7 per night in hostels and $25 in hotels.