Baku: Tourist arrivals to Azerbaijan experienced a modest decline of nearly 2% in the first nine months of this year, as 1,948.2 thousand foreign nationals and stateless persons visited the country. This figure represents a 1.8% decrease compared to the same period last year, as reported by the State Statistical Committee to APA.

According to Azeri-Press News Agency, the largest group of visitors came from the Russian Federation, accounting for 24.8% of the total. Other significant sources of tourists included Trkiye with 17.1%, Iran with 7.9%, and India with 6.8%. Additionally, visitors from Saudi Arabia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, China, Uzbekistan, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, Turkmenistan, Kuwait, and Belarus made up a substantial part of the tourist demographic. Overall, visitors were predominantly male, comprising 66.3% of the total, while women accounted for 33.7%.

Despite the overall decrease, some regions showed notable increases in tourist numbers. Arrivals from Tajikistan surged 1.9 times, while those from Israel increased 1.8 times. Other countries such as Japan, China, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, the USA, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, Pakistan, Italy, and the Republic of Korea also contributed to the growth in visitor numbers, with varying percentages of increase.

Compared to the corresponding period last year, arrivals from European Union member countries rose by 8.5% to 88.8 thousand. Conversely, there was a 4.9% decrease in tourists from Gulf countries, totaling 321.1 thousand, and a 7.2% decline in visitors from CIS countries, amounting to 669.8 thousand. Meanwhile, arrivals from other countries saw a 3.1% increase, reaching 868.5 thousand.

Regarding transportation, a significant majority of foreigners and stateless persons, 76.2%, chose air travel to reach Azerbaijan. Railway and automobile transport were utilized by 22.5% of arrivals, and sea transport was the choice for 1.3% of visitors.