Keywords
regional tourism
economic regions
tourism infrastructure
Republic of Azerbaijan
How to Cite
Abstract
Tourism development in Azerbaijan is characterised by territorial differences in the volume of tourist flow, provision of infrastructure and the results of hotel activities. Fragmented examination of these indicators makes it difficult to assess regional tourism development on a comparable basis. The study aims to systematize the factors of regional tourism development and assess the differences in the state of the hotel sector. The empirical basis comprises official data published by the State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2019–2024. The analysis covers hotels and similar accommodation establishments, accommodated persons, overnight stays, enterprise income and employment. Dynamic analysis, indicator grouping, min–max normalisation and interregional comparison were applied. An integral index for five territories was calculated based on six relative indicators of hotel activity for 2024. It was found that the sector recovery after the 2020 downturn was accompanied by the persistence of territorial unevenness. Demand and hotel income remain concentrated in Baku, while the Guba-Khachmaz economic region demonstrates stronger relative performance across the selected accommodation indicators. The author proposes the classification of economic, infrastructural, social, environmental, institutional, technological and marketing factors, which allows taking into account the interrelationships between the components of the tourism system. The proposed indicator system can support comparative regional assessment, identify infrastructure constraints and contribute to the formulation of tourism-policy measures that reflect the specific conditions of individual territories. The calculated index characterizes the comparative position of the selected territories in terms of hotel indicators, but does not cover all aspects of sustainable tourism development. The obtained results can be used to identify infrastructural limits and determine the priorities of regional tourism policy.
During the research, the author used the ChatGPT model (GPT‑6, OpenAI) as an auxiliary tool for linguistic (grammatical and stylistic) text editing, as well as improving its clarity. The edited data have been verified by the author. The author is responsible for the scientific content and the research results.
References
1. Илькевич С. В. Экономические аспекты устойчивого развития туризма в регионах Российской Федерации / С. В. Илькевич, Е. С. Сахарчук // Вестник Ассоциации вузов туризма и сервиса. – 2014. – Т. 8. – № 2. – С. 4–16. DOI: https://doi.org/10.12737/3872
2. Кружалин В. И. Стратегическое планирование как основа устойчивого развития туризма в регионах Российской Федерации / В. И. Кружалин, Т. Н. Меньшикова, К. В. Кружалин // Географический вестник. – 2022. – № 1 (60). – С. 136–149. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17072/2079-7877-2022-1-136-149
3. Леонидова Е. Г. Приоритеты и угрозы развития регионального туризма / Е. Г. Леонидова // Регионология. – 2022. – Т. 30, – № 3. – С. 624–646. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15507/2413-1407.120.030.202203.624-646
4. Мамраева Д. Г. Методический инструментарий оценки туристско-рекреационного потенциала региона / Д. Г. Мамраева, Л. В. Ташенова // Экономика региона. – 2020. – Т. 16, – вып. 1. – С. 127–140. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17059/2020-1-10
5. Морозов М. А. Региональные особенности развития туристской инфраструктуры и их влияние на туризм / М. А. Морозов, Н. С. Морозова // Регионология. 2021. – Т. 29. – № 3. – С. 588–610. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15507/2413-1407.116.029.202103.588-610
6. Морошкина М. В. Региональная доступность как фактор развития туристского направления / М. В. Морошкина, С. В. Кондратьева // Регионология. – 2021. – Т. 29. – № 1. – С. 60–81. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15507/2413-1407.114.029.202101.060-081
7. Мякшин В. Н. Совершенствование оценки туристского потенциала субъектов Арктической зоны РФ / В. Н. Мякшин, А. Е. Шапаров, Д. В. Тиханова // Экономика региона. – 2021. – Т. 17. – № 1. – С. 235–248. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17059/ekon.reg.2021-1-18
8. Сорокин Д. Е. О проблемах стратегирования развития туризма в регионах России: на примере Краснодарского края и города-курорта Сочи / Д. Е. Сорокин, В. Н. Шарафутдинов, Е. В. Онищенко // Экономика региона. – 2017. Т. 13, – вып. 3. – С. 764–776. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17059/2017-3-10
9. Bayramli G. Sustainable development of tourism in Azerbaijan: Current situation, problems and solution // Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental. – 2024. – Vol. 18, – no. 4. – Article e05816. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24857/rgsa.v18n4-104
10. Hajiyev N. G., Humbatova S. I., Abidi S. A. The impact of Azerbaijan’s national economic development on tourism sector // Journal of Eastern European and Central Asian Research. – 2022. – Vol. 9, – no. 2. – P. 151–164. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15549/jeecar.v9i2.689
11. Holovchuk Y., Dybchuk L., Tsilnyk O. The concept of regional tourism systems in the context of sustainable development // Baltic Journal of Economic Studies. – 2025. – Vol. 11, – no. 1. – P. 231–238. DOI: https://doi.org/10.30525/2256-0742/2025-11-1-231-238
12. Liu Y., Suk S. Influencing factors of Azerbaijan and China’s sustainable tourism development strategy under the One Belt One Road Initiative // Sustainability. – 2022. – Vol. 14, – no. 1. – Article 187. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010187
1. Ilkevich, S. V., & Sakharchuk, E. S. (2014). Ekonomicheskie aspekty ustoychivogo razvitiya turizma v regionakh Rossiyskoy Federatsii [Economic aspects of sustainable tourism development in the regions of the Russian Federation]. Vestnik Assotsiatsii vuzov turizma i servisa [Universities for Tourism and Service Association Bulletin], 8(2), 4–17. https://doi.org/10.12737/3872. (In Russ.).
2. Kruzhalin, V. I., Menshikova, T. N., & Kruzhalin, K. V. (2022). Strategicheskoe planirovanie kak osnova ustoychivogo razvitiya turizma v regionakh Rossiyskoy Federatsii [Strategic planning as a basis for sustainable tourism development and the preservation of cultural heritage in the regions of the Russian Federation]. Geograficheskiy vestnik [Geographical Bulletin], 1, 136–149. https://doi.org/10.17072/2079-7877-2022-1-136-149. (In Russ.).
3. Leonidova, E. G. (2022). Prioritety i ugrozy razvitiya regionalnogo turizma [Priorities and Threats for the Development of Regional Tourism]. Regionologiya [Regionology. Russian Journal of Regional Studies], 30(3), 624–646. https://doi.org/10.15507/2413-1407.120.030.202203.624-646. (In Russ.).
4. Mamraeva, D. G., & Tashenova, L. V. (2020). Metodicheskiy instrumentariy otsenki turistsko-rekreatsionnogo potentsiala regiona [Methodological Tools for Assessing the Region’s Tourist and Recreation Potential]. Ekonomika regiona [Economy of region], 16(1), 127–140. https://doi.org/10.17059/2020-1-10. (In Russ.).
5. Morozov, M. A., & Morozova, N. S. (2021). Regionalnye osobennosti razvitiya turistskoy infrastruktury i ikh vliyanie na turizm [Regional Features of Development of Tourism Infrastructure and Their Impact on Tourism]. Regionologiya [Regionology. Russian Journal of Regional Studies], 29(3), 588–610. https://doi.org/10.15507/2413-1407.116.029.202103.588-610. (In Russ.).
6. Moroshkina, M. V., & Kondrateva, S. V. (2021). Regionalnaya dostupnost kak faktor razvitiya turistskogo napravleniya [Regional Accessibility as a Factor in the Development of a Tourist Destination]. Regionologiya [Regionology. Russian Journal of Regional Studies], 29(1), 60–81. https://doi.org/10.15507/2413-1407.114.029.202101.060-081. (In Russ.).
7. Myakshin, V. N., Shaparov, A. E., & Tikhanova, D. V. (2021). Sovershenstvovanie otsenki turistskogo potentsiala subektov Arkticheskoy zony RF [Improving the Assessment of the Tourism Potential of the Russian Arctic]. Ekonomika regiona [Economy of region], 17(1), 235–248. https://doi.org/10.17059/ekon.reg.2021-1-18. (In Russ.).
8. Sorokin, D. E., Sharafutdinov, V. N., & Onishchenko, E. V. (2017). O problemakh strategirovaniya razvitiya turizma v regionakh Rossii: Na primere Krasnodarskogo kraya i goroda-kurorta Sochi [On the Problems of Strategic Development of Tourism in the Regions of Russia (Case of the Krasnodar Region and the Resort City of Sochi)]. Ekonomika regiona [Economy of region], 13(3), 764–776. https://doi.org/10.17059/2017-3-10. (In Russ.).
9. Bayramli, G. (2024). Sustainable development of tourism in Azerbaijan: Current situation, problems and solution. Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental, 18(4), e05816. https://doi.org/10.24857/rgsa.v18n4-104.
10. Hajiyev, N. G., Humbatova, S. I., & Abidi, S. A. (2022). The impact of Azerbaijan’s national economic development on tourism sector. Journal of Eastern European and Central Asian Research, 9(2), 151–164. https://doi.org/10.15549/jeecar.v9i2.689.
11. Holovchuk, Y., Dybchuk, L., & Tsilnyk, O. (2025). The concept of regional tourism systems in the context of sustainable development. Baltic Journal of Economic Studies, 11(1), 231–238. https://doi.org/10.30525/2256-0742/2025-11-1-231-238.
12. Liu, Y., & Suk, S. (2022). Influencing factors of Azerbaijan and China’s sustainable tourism development strategy under the One Belt One Road Initiative. Sustainability, 14(1), 187. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010187.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.