Azerbaijan should focus on increasing tourists' spending rather than the number of visitors, World Bank Lead Tourism Specialist Shaun Mann said during a panel discussion held as part of the presentation of the "Azerbaijan Country Economic Memorandum – Spring 2026" report in Baku, APA-Economics reports.
According to him, the next stage of Azerbaijan's tourism development should focus not so much on increasing the number of tourists, but on extending their length of stay, increasing their spending, and generating greater economic value.
Shaun Mann said that to achieve this, tourism products and destinations should be further developed, while new experiences for visitors should be created in the country's regions.
"There is no other way to increase the value of tourism. To achieve this, it is necessary to enrich tourism products and systematically invest in the development of destinations," he stressed.
The expert noted that it is also important to expand international air connectivity to these destinations. According to him, the necessary infrastructure and institutional framework must first be established to attract investors to the regions.
Shaun Mann said that tourism development is not solely the responsibility of tourism authorities: "This process requires coordinated action by the transport, labor, environmental, and other government agencies. It is through such cooperation that sustainable tourism development in the regions can be ensured."
He added that, according to the World Bank's assessment, development plans have been prepared for a number of tourism destinations in Azerbaijan and infrastructure gaps have been identified.
"The next stage is to implement these plans through real investments. Without investment, it will not be possible to achieve these goals," he said.
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