AZE.US
Foreign visitors spent nearly 281 million manats less in Azerbaijan during the first five months of 2026, prompting renewed criticism of the country’s continued closure of its land borders.
From January through May, foreign nationals and stateless persons spent 943.99 million manats in Azerbaijan, down 280.75 million manats, or 22.9%, from the same period last year.
Spending on accommodation fell 32% to 171.75 million manats, while spending on food declined 20.1% to 176.71 million manats.
Tourist spending also decreased across several other categories. Expenditures on travel packages dropped 19.8% to 437,500 manats. Car rental spending fell 3% to 1.47 million manats, while spending on sports and entertainment services declined 0.7% to 6.45 million manats.
Foreign visitors spent 115.07 million manats on goods and gifts, down 4.9%, while other tourism-related expenses fell 20.1% to 35.69 million manats.
Economist Natig Jafarli said the figures show that Azerbaijan’s tourism sector is weakening despite repeated government statements that the industry is a national priority.
According to Jafarli, tourism has a multiplier effect because it supports hotels, restaurants, transportation, retail, entertainment and several other sectors. The latest data, however, show declines across nearly all of those areas.
“Tourism cannot develop in a country where the land borders remain closed,” Jafarli said.
He noted that many European visitors prefer to travel through several South Caucasus countries during a single trip. Tourists can enter Georgia, continue to Armenia and travel between the two countries by land, but they cannot cross into Azerbaijan through its land borders.
Jafarli said Azerbaijan recorded its highest pre-pandemic tourism figures in 2019, when the country received about 2.4 million visitors. Even then, however, it remained behind neighboring Georgia.
He argued that Azerbaijan has focused too heavily on expensive hotel developments while failing to create conditions for small hostels, family-run hotels and guesthouses.
Jafarli pointed to Georgia, where thousands of small hotels are operated by families and generate income for local communities. By comparison, he said, Azerbaijan has relatively few hostels and small accommodation businesses.
Bureaucracy is another obstacle, according to the economist. Entrepreneurs seeking to establish new tourism routes in Azerbaijan’s regions often have to secure approvals from multiple government bodies.
Jafarli also said Azerbaijan has failed to turn its historical and cultural heritage into compelling tourism narratives.
“Tourism is about selling a story. First, you sell the story, and then the tourist comes,” he said. “We think kebab is the story, but tourists do not travel only for food.”
He cited Georgia’s promotion of stories linked to ancient Colchis, the Golden Fleece and the origins of winemaking as examples of how historical narratives can be transformed into successful tourism products.
Azerbaijan also has significant tourism potential, including early Christian heritage, ancient temples, archaeological sites and religious routes, Jafarli said. However, many of these attractions remain poorly promoted internationally.
“Keeping the land borders closed, failing to create competition and not promoting stories that encourage people to travel make tourism development impossible,” he said.
AZE.US