TravTalk Middle East Online Magazine
Travellers from the GCC yearn for excitement and exploration as it’s in their DNA to find new places of adventure, discover new cultures, follow historically famous areas or visit adrenaline pumping events in beautiful surroundings of nature – Azerbaijan offers all this and more. Florian Sengstschmid, CEO, Azerbaijan Tourism Board shares with TRAVTALK plans for the year.
Shehara Rizly
Q What does it feel like to return to ATM onsite?
We are super excited to be back at the ATM, it is the first physical live event we are attending after almost 18 months and we brought nine partners from Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan airlines as well. We are operating flights between Dubai and Baku at this moment together with flydubai and Qatar airways. The GCC market is the first one which is already picking up although the borders in Azerbaijan are still closed. However, business travel is allowed and local and international events are taking place.
Q Could you share the initiatives taken to ensure travellers confidence?
An important element is standards, hygiene and safety. In April 2020, we launched a comprehensive safety and hygiene programme for everyone in the industry, from travel agents, transporters, tour guides to hotels, basically partners in the industry. We are monitoring on a daily basis accommodation units in order to see that the standards will improve over the past year. There is a big return on authenticity of what is the natural essence of the destination and what Azerbaijan has to offer and this is what we have been reinforcing over the past 18 months might it be hiking, our food production chain, what makes Azerbaijan culture and nature special. All this is in big demand when borders open with authentic experiences.
Q How important is the Indian market?
India is one of our very important source markets although they are going through a difficult time right now. Our thoughts are with our Indian friends and we are supporting travel industry partners and media but we have to wait a bit until the situation really improves on both sides so that we can restart our activities. We would love to go back and tell about what Azerbaijan has been doing during the last 18 months by improving links to fundamental experience centres, there is a lot one can expect once the borders are open. Unfortunately, we have to keep our relations with industry partners online, but we are positive that India would be soon back to Azerbaijan.
Q Do share about the new e-learning platform
We have been creating Azerbaijan 101, an e-learning platform. We run Indian special courses on special interest teams, for example in activities planned for Indians we have focal teams on weddings and wedding planners and event management and what you can do in Azerbaijan, how you can organise a perfect wedding, so we have also continued to work with online platforms to place Azerbaijan as a wedding destination post-COVID.
