Page 62 - Azerbaijan State University of Economics

Vilayat İsmayilov, Aygun Samadova, Sarraf Mirzayev: The Role of Rural Tourism in
the Development of the Rural Economy
26.

Figure 3: Distribution of foreign tourists visiting Azerbaijan for different purposes

3000 Total for tourism
Number of tourists, thsd. person 2000 purposes,thsd. person
2500

1500
Number of tourists for
leisure,thsd person
1000
500
Number of tourists for the
0
purpose of professional
2012 2015 2016 2017 2018
business, thsd
Years

Source: The State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Tourism in
Azerbaijan, 2019: 21-25

There are over 4253 rural residential estates in our country. The vast majority of these
residential estates are located in mountainous areas. In this regard there is potential for
rural tourism development in Azerbaijan (The State Statistical Committee of the
Republic of Azerbaijan. Statistical yearbook of Azerbaijan, 2019: 56-75).

The program directed to tourism industry, especially to rural tourism development
mainly covers the following thoughts:
1. Activating the rural communities in the fight against emigration
2. To achieve an increase in the specific weight of tourism revenues, directly in the
share of rural tourism.
3. Diversification of tourism products due to the introduction of new privatized
tourism market segments along with other tourist sights.
4. Hospitality of rural population, use of special products which corresponds to the
traditions of the village.
5. Strengthening, storage the traditional state of life and culture, at the same time
protection and conservation of nature and anthropogenic environment.

CONCLUSION
Generally, the rural tourism in Azerbaijan covers “typical” socio-economic objectives in
the development of agriculture. The rural tourism doesn’t serve for the alternative
quality of traditional rural activity, but serves for the additional source of income
directed to daily activities. The regular arrangement of city residents’ rest in villages
will give a serious impetus to the development domestic and foreign tourism and as a
result the economic situation of the village improves, rural area with threat of
disintegration are being renovated. The development of rural tourism results with the

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