In the last 20 years, the tourism sector in Azerbaijan has grown 19 times, Goydeniz Gahramanov, Chairman of the Board of the Association of Travel Agencies of Azerbaijan (ATAA) Public Union, said at the Forum of Tourism Industry Subjects held in Baku, Report informs.

"Excluding the recovery period after the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the number of foreigners and stateless persons visiting Azerbaijan increased more than 3 times during the period 2003–2019, and the number of overnight stays in hotels and hotel-type facilities increased 7.6 times. In order to facilitate travel to Azerbaijan, a number of administrative procedures were simplified, and the transport infrastructure was improved. During the 20-year presidency of Ilham Aliyev, the share of the sector in the non-oil economy has quadrupled from 0.7% to 3.4%, the number of hired workers in the field of tourist accommodation and public catering grew by 6.5 times, and the total employment in this field has increased by 4.1 times," he said.