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October 26, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 8
Tourists head off the beaten track in CEE and Eurasia
Clare Nuttall in Bucharest
Tourists are increasingly visiting far flung des- tinations in Eastern Europe and Eurasia that
are not part of the usual tourist trail. Data from the UNWTO shows that in terms of spending by tourists, the largest increases between 2010 and 2017 were seen in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Tajik- istan — all of which experienced an increase of 300% or over in the seven year period.
Admittedly this was from a low base. Tajikistan benefits the leasts from the small number of tourists it manages to attract, drawing in just $8mn in 2017 — compared to $22.4bn in the region’s most popular destination Turkey. The numbers for Azerbaijan and Georgia are greater, but they still can’t compete with top beach des- tinations like Turkey and Croatia or the cultural lure of the Czech Republic, Poland or Russia.
Still the numbers tell a positive story about the growing attractiveness of more obscure destina- tions in this part of the world. Thanks to a com- bination of promotion efforts by governments,
the expansion of budget flights (in particular to Georgia), and simply the growing propensity to travel worldwide and the increasing adventur- ousness of tourists, these and other previously overlooked destinations are seeing visitor num- bers rise.
The number of visitors to Azerbaijan almost doubled from 1.3mn in 2010 to 2.4mn in 2017, and their spending more than quadrupled from $657mn to $3.0bn. Baku has had considerable success in raising the country’s profile with cultural and sporting events from Eurovision 2012 to the annual Grand Prix.
Visitors to neighbouring Georgia more than tripled between 2010 and 2017. As in Azerbaijan, there was an even sharper increase in tourism revenues, from $659mn to $2.8bn during the same period. Georgia’s rich history, spectacular mountain scenery, Black Sea coast, and wine and food are all draws for tourists to the country, which
is increasingly served by budget airlines.