BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov. 16
By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:
The number of Israeli tourists visiting Azerbaijan is expected to reach 45,000 people this year, Israeli ambassador to Azerbaijan Dan Stav said in an exclusive interview with Trend.
He pointed out that there is a continuous tourist flow from Israel to Azerbaijan, since there are Azerbaijani Jews living in Israel, who come to Azerbaijan as tourists.
“When I came here four years ago, the number of Israeli tourists visiting Azerbaijan was 10,000, including private visits and business visits. This year, most likely, we will reach the figure of 45,000. So, it is really a huge increment. It is built on the good work of Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), as well as Israeli Airline Israir that has been very active in promoting Baku as an interesting destination for weekend. It is only 3 hours of flight from Israel to Azerbaijan,” he said.
At the same time, he said the number of weekly flights from Azerbaijan to Israel has also increased.
“I think Israel has become a very interesting destination for Azerbaijani tourists, not only for private and health tourism, but also for those who want to see an interesting country,” said the Israeli envoy.
The ambassador also praised the role of the ASAN Visa system in developing relations between Israel and Azerbaijan in tourism sphere.
“ASAN Visa is a wonderful system, it works smoothly, it is reliable and whenever we have some problems, we always have someone to listen to us. So, the cooperation is excellent. From our side, we have a consular section here. It is our work to provide the best possible service for those who are interested to visit Israel. We try to cut short the waiting time for visas. We try to expedite the process and visa fee is very reasonable. Israel is an interesting small country with very good infrastructure. You can move around very easily and it offers everything from heritage to nature, from desert to green area in the north. We also have a very warm Azerbaijani community in Israel,” said Dan Stav.
The ambassador went on to add that Israeli tourists visiting Azerbaijan give very positive feedbacks.
“When you follow the feedbacks on Facebook, you see that 99 percent are so happy from what they see here, they are happy about not only the cheap prices, good hotels, fascinating Baku, but also the very warm attitude of people here. All in all, it is a very lovely experience,” he added.
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