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2012 YEAR OF SPORTS T


he President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, announced in January that 2012 would be the


Year of Sports in the country. The initiative aims to expand the Olympic movement throughout Azerbaijan, to give a boost to Azeri ath- letes’ preparations for the London 2012 Olympics and ensure that all young Azeris regularly take part in sport, as well as promoting a healthy lifestyle throughout the country. Azerbaijan is bidding to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, with Baku one of the six shortlisted cities. The National Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan (the Milli Mejlis) voted in Febuary 2012 to fully endorse the Baku 2020 Bid. Konul Nurullayeva, the chief execu- tive of Baku 2020, said recently: "Baku is one of the world’s best-kept secrets. Our Olympic Bid is part of a wider process of transforming Baku into a world-class destination, with first-class


The 2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup starts on 22 September 2012


business, technology and sports facili- ties, as well as hotels, museums and art collections, universities and all the infra- structure that comes with them. "With the Olympic Movement, together


we can reinforce and continue the posi- tive social, economic and infrastructural changes that have already taken place in Baku and Azerbaijan over the past two


decades since independence." The 2012 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup is being held in Baku this autumn. As part of the Year of Sports, the pres- ident said that the country's Ministry of Youth and Sport has been asked to develop an action plan, to include the development of additional sports com- plexes around the country.


More than 35,000 people now work in tourism in the country, and degree programmes in tourism management have been established at Baku State University, Azerbaijan State Economic University and various vocational col- leges and institutes. In addition, the Association of Tourism of Azerbaijan has agreed to cooperate with the American Hotel and Lodging Institute to develop the country’s skill base. Marketing remains a developing art, especially in terms of the positioning and branding of the country, although it’s expected that the international hotel and spa operators will make a significant contribution to improving awareness in this area.


As a traditional crossroads between Europe and Asia, and meeting place of cultures, the country’s heritage has major international appeal, as does its environmental wealth and diversity – it straddles 11 of the earth’s climatic zones creating extraordinary biodiver- sity and natural resources. Rural and eco-tourism have become interest- ing themes for recent development, with some projects being supported by international donor aid programmes. The arrival of globally recognised hotel brands and an international-


ISSUE 2 2012 © cybertrek 2012


standard spa and wellness product is certainly proving to be a successful repositioning strategy as a high-class destination. It is an approach that has captured consumer and media inter- est, yet there remains much more to be done to consolidate and create a rounded tourism offer.


A POSITIVE OUTLOOK Nonetheless, Euromonitor International’s Azerbaijan Report 2011, unveiled at the UK's World Travel Market in November, has a positive out- look on the country’s tourism sector that’s driven by the revenues from the oil industry and sits comfortably with the diversification of one of the world’s fastest growing economies. According to the report, the glut of international luxury resorts in Baku appears to be modelled on Dubai with “extravagant, futuristic, luxury hotel resorts includ- ing the Hotel Full Moon, Crescent Moon [Kempinski] and Flame Towers [Fairmont] with its ESPA Life spa." The most extravagant project, according to the report, is the con- cept planned for Nargin Island, a former communist-era prison. It has been reported online that the 1sq km island, 14km off Baku’s coast,


is set to host a luxury resort encom- passing 300 villas and a number of hotels, and will include seven glass and metal structures modelled on Azerbaijan’s northern mountain range. Finance for the development, known as Zira Zero Island, is slated to come from the AvroCityHolding Group with the Denmark architectural firm Bjarke Ingels Group leading its design. High levels of business travel and


the seductive appeal of an ancient yet thoroughly modernised city is an intox- icating cocktail in which to grow an innovative spa product. Although the high yielding business and leisure travel constitutes a relatively small proportion of the one million or so international arrivals, there are people for whom an interesting, quality, spa and wellness experience is much sought after. Recent reports from Azerbaijan sug- gest that the country has extraordinary ambitions to grow international arriv- als to a staggering 20 million in 30 years. This will be a challenge, but at a time when the UN World Tourism Organization is predicting global inter- national tourism arrivals will grow from 1 billion in 2011 to 1.8 billion by 2030, who's to argue against Azerbaijan securing a portion of this growth? l


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