President Aliyev: Modern tourism industry to appear in Azerbaijan

A modern tourism industry will be created in Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev said May 11 at a meeting with the staff of the Dinamo Hotel, the opening ceremony of which took place in the Sabail District of Baku.

"I congratulate you on the opening of a new hotel in Baku," the Azerbaijani president said.

"This is a wonderful event. The Dinamo Hotel was constructed and put into operation at an excellent level. As you know, it is located in a historic building. This building has a great history. I am very glad that the historical architecture of the building has been completely preserved, and the interior design also pleases the eye. Guests of the hotel will feel at home. An excellent design work was carried out. Ichr("39")d like to express special gratitude to Mrs. Pinto. Itchr("39")s really a lovely design. All the work here was carried out at a very modern and high level," President Aliyev said.

The president further emphasized that the hotel location is also very convenient.

"This is the downtown area, and guests of the hotel can have a walk to the most interesting places of the city - Boulevard, Icherisheher and other places in the downtown area. Surely, activity of this hotel will give impetus to the development of tourism in the country. That's because now this is one of the main directions for us. The number of tourists in the country is growing," the head of state said.

"The tourist flow to Azerbaijan grew 22 percent in 2016 and 20 percent in 2017," he noted. "This is while for January-April this year, the tourist flow to Azerbaijan grew 13 percent. Today, tourists from more than 90 countries can come to Azerbaijan by using the ASAN Viza system. We have seven airports, and excellent infrastructure projects are being implemented. Azerbaijan's State Tourism Agency has been recently created, and this will give impetus to the development of tourism."

The head of state added that modern tourism industry will be created in Azerbaijan.

"At the same time, the commissioning of this hotel shows the general development of our country," he noted. "The beauty of our city is recognized by the world community. Major events held in our country, sports events, and the holding of Formula 1 races among them, attract the world's attention to Azerbaijan. Today, Baku, as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, opens its doors to friends."

"I am really happy that today we are participating in the official opening ceremony of the Dinamo Hotel located in the historical building of our city," he said. "I am very glad that the architectural style of the building has been fully preserved. This building has a very long history. It is gratifying that we were able to preserve this building in its original form. I would like to note the importance of this, because I know that there were plans to demolish this building and build a new skyscraper in its place. However, immediately after I was informed about this, I stopped these plans. That's because we have to cherish our history, our architecture and protect the development of Baku architecture."