In the post-pandemic period of 2021-2025, GDP production in the field of tourist accommodation and public catering activities increased by an average of 24.5% annually, reaching 3.6 billion manats. This is 23.2% higher compared to the pre-COVID-19 pandemic level.
Modern.az reports that Fuad Naghiyev, Chairman of the State Tourism Agency, stated this at today's public hearing of the Milli Majlis Committee on Labor and Social Policy on the topic “Current State and Development Prospects of Tourism in Azerbaijan.”
The Chairman of the Agency stated that, according to preliminary results, the total added value created in the tourism sector amounted to 6.9 billion manats in 2025.
“As a result, in 2025, the share of the tourism sector in the economy rose to 5.3 percent for the first time in history. The rapid growth dynamics supported the trends of creating new jobs in this sector.
In the post-pandemic period, 58 thousand new paid jobs were created in the field of tourist accommodation and public catering activities, of which 21 thousand accounted for 2025. Consequently, the share of this activity sector in the paid labor market increased from 1.5 percent to 4.6 percent over 5 years.”
According to him, in the past 5 years, total tourist expenditures increased by 7.7 billion manats, reaching 9 billion manats in 2025, which is 39% higher than the pre-pandemic level. Also, per capita tourism expenditures for inbound tourism increased by 74% in 2025 compared to 2019. As a result, although inbound tourism has not fully recovered, revenues from this direction reached 3 billion 258 million manats in 2025, which is 9.6% higher than in 2019.
“Thus, in the last 5 years, hotel revenues increased by 536 million manats, and the turnover for catering establishments increased by more than 2 billion manats. In January 2026, there was also a 5% increase in the number of foreign citizens visiting Azerbaijan compared to 2025.
The increasing indicators give reason to say that Azerbaijan's tourism sector maintains its sustainable development and is becoming one of the strategic pillars of the non-oil economy” – he noted.
