Azerbaijan's average recognition rate as a tourism destination has increased to 48%, Florian Sengstschmid, Chief Executive Officer of the Azerbaijan Tourism Board, said during a panel discussion held as part of the presentation of the World Bank's "Azerbaijan Country Economic Memorandum – Spring 2026" report, APA-Economics reports.
According to him, international studies conducted in 2018–2019 showed that Azerbaijan was virtually unknown as a tourism destination in Europe's key tourism markets.
"According to the results of the latest research we conducted in 2025, Azerbaijan's average recognition rate as a tourism destination across various foreign markets has increased to 48%," Florian Sengstschmid noted.
He stressed that the figure stands at approximately 90% in the Turkish market, 75% in Saudi Arabia, 40% in the UAE, and 30% in Germany.
The chief executive officer stated that since the establishment of the State Tourism Agency in 2018, significant steps have been taken to build a sustainable and competitive tourism ecosystem in the country. Within this framework, a new Law on Tourism has been adopted, a hotel star classification system has been introduced, certification of tour guides has begun, and international standards have been implemented.
He added that nine regional tourism offices have been established across the country to promote regional tourism development, and the process of updating Azerbaijan's tourism brand is now nearing completion.
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