AZE.US
Azerbaijan received 16,800 one-day visitors in January-May 2026, up 29.7% from the same period last year, according to calculations based on data from the State Statistics Committee.
Of that total, 14,381 visitors, or 85.6%, traveled through Azerbaijan primarily for transit purposes.
Overall, 564,237 tourists visited the country during the first five months of the year.
Business travel accounted for 824 one-day visitors, an increase of 73.8%. Another 808 people came to visit relatives and friends, up 55%, while 664 traveled for leisure and entertainment, down 2.3%.
A further 68 visitors came for shopping, while 55 arrived for religious purposes.
Russia accounted for 5,040 one-day visitors, up 39.1%, followed by Turkey with 3,398, an increase of 65.4%. Georgia accounted for 745 visitors, while the number from Iran fell 47.9% to 115.
Among Russian visitors, 4,159 used Azerbaijan as a transit route. The same was true for 2,459 visitors from Turkey.
Spending Reached 7.06 Million Manats
One-day visitors spent a combined 7.06 million manats, or about $4.15 million, in Azerbaijan during the reporting period. That was 25.7% more than a year earlier.
Transportation accounted for 5.67 million manats, or about $3.33 million, representing 80.3% of all spending.
Visitors spent another 819,300 manats, around $482,000, on goods and gifts, while food expenses totaled 549,900 manats, or about $323,000.
Spending on cultural services remained limited at 3,600 manats, while sports and entertainment services brought in just 2,100 manats.
Russian citizens spent 1.9 million manats, about $1.12 million, in Azerbaijan, up 41.1%. Spending by Turkish visitors rose 68.2% to 865,400 manats, around $509,000.
Visitors from Georgia spent 263,600 manats, while Iranian visitors spent 48,500 manats, down 46%.
The figures show that the rise in one-day tourism has been driven mainly by transit traffic, with most visitor spending going toward transportation rather than hotels, restaurants or entertainment.
AZE.US