Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 27
By Anvar Mammadov – Trend:
Azerbaijan intends to actively develop gastronomic tourism in the near future, chairman of Azerbaijan’s DAIR Hotels and Restaurants Association Samir Dubendi told Trend Aug. 27.
“This segment of tourism in the country has all the necessary opportunities for development,” he added. “But, unfortunately, proper attention has not been paid to this segment for a long time.”
"Unfortunately, until recently, Azerbaijan’s cuisine has been promoted only by bloggers,” Dubendi said. “Cuisine and gastronomic tourism, in general, are one of the main segments of tourism and it should be developed. We have delicious, rich cuisine with an ancient history.”
“The tourist infrastructure which has been already developed in the country will help further develop gastronomic tourism,” he said.
"Presently, there is a big number of tourism resources in the country, namely, hotels, restaurants, roads, simplified visa regime, etc.,” Dubendi said. “All this is quite a solid basis for further development of the sector as a whole and its separate directions. I think that gastronomic tourism will overtake all other segments in terms of the pace of development in the near future.”
“The program of action within the development of gastronomic tourism will be discussed in the near future,” he added.
"We think that the hotels of the country belonging to international networks must offer national dishes," he said. “Once there was a great idea to serve Azerbaijani breakfast in hotels, which is very rich and diverse. But in connection with the disbanding of the country’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the creation of two new structures, this issue has not been properly considered. I think that solving of this issue will be one of the first steps.”
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