According to the official report, in the first quarter of 2026, the number of foreigners coming to Azerbaijan decreased by 4.7 percent compared to the same period of the previous year, and the number of Azerbaijani citizens traveling abroad decreased by 3.5 percent. What is the decline related to?
Medianews.az asked a question to Milli Mejlis member, economist Vuqar Bayramov, who said that the decrease in tourists coming to Azerbaijan was expected: “The geopolitical tension in the region directly affects the number of tourists. Azerbaijan neighbors Iran, and naturally, the war in that country has reduced the number of tourists coming to our country. This also concerns tourists coming from Iran itself to Azerbaijan. The war in Iran has negatively affected tourism not only in Azerbaijan but also in all states in the region.
Before the war, there was already a decrease in the number of tourists coming from several countries, especially from India. Tourism is the sector that brings the most revenue after oil to Azerbaijan. Therefore, it is important for the number of tourists coming to the country to be optimal and to increase. If the war in Iran continues, it could continue to negatively affect the number of tourists in the upcoming periods.”
Tourism expert Jafar Garayev stated in an interview with Medianews.az that he approaches the official statistics with some caution: “A 4.7 percent decline in the number of foreigners coming to Azerbaijan seems small to me. In my opinion, the number should be higher. Most tourists to the country came from India, Pakistan, and the Middle East. Part of February and March coincided with Ramadan. Moreover, there was a military conflict in the region - the war with Iran. Although a ceasefire was reached, the tension has not yet subsided. Due to the war, almost no tourists came from the Middle East to Azerbaijan. The airspace of several countries in the region was closed, and a significant number of flights were canceled. In addition, because of its internal issues, the Indian airline “IndiGo” suspended flights to Azerbaijan.
Such a situation causes great damage. The situation of tourism companies working with Arab countries is difficult. Since February 18, practically no tourists have come from Arab countries. Flights stopped due to the war and have not yet been restored. Kuwait and Bahrain airports are closed. The airports in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have partially resumed operations. Unfortunately, the “AirArabia” company, which operates flights from the UAE to Azerbaijan, has not resumed flights to our country. According to the latest information, “AirArabia” suspended flights to Azerbaijan until May 30. Similarly, the Azerbaijan Airlines’ decision to suspend flights to Dubai in the UAE remains in force, if I am not mistaken, until the end of April. Flights to Doha, the capital of Qatar, and to Kuwait have also been canceled. We did not have air connections with Oman anyway. Flights to two cities in Saudi Arabia - Riyadh and Dammam - have also stopped.”
Jafar Garayev emphasized that such a situation has a very serious impact on both outgoing and incoming tourism: “Through tourists coming to Azerbaijan, foreign currency was flowing into our country. Tourists brought cash. They spent money on various sectors - food, shopping, sightseeing, hotels, museums, etc. Currently, all of this has stopped. In this regard, the situation in inbound tourism is particularly severe.
I should note that tourists also used to come to Azerbaijan from Israel, and their numbers were increasing year by year. Currently, the connection with this country is also cut off. Since Iran’s airspace is closed, planes come to Azerbaijan taking a long detour. This increases fuel consumption and makes plane tickets more expensive.”
Nailə Qasımova,
Medianews.az