Image by Arzu Geybullayeva. Created using Canva Pro.
The initiative by Azerbaijan's state tourism agency launched earlier this year is not surprising, given the government's long history of footing hefty bills for image boosts. Whether hosting the Eurovision song contest, Formula 1 races, the European Games, or COP29 – just to name a few – the country has long been eager to demonstrate its wealth to outsiders.
Meanwhile, those critical of how state budget revenues are allocated or where funds are funneled, find themselves being strong-armed by tactics that include everything from blackmail and physical intimidation to prison sentences.
The agency's new spending spree
The State Tourism Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan launched its latest initiative in February 2025 as part of a strategy to promote the country internationally, and “contribute” to tourism development. To this end, it announced four tenders on the state procurement portal. The total funds allocated to these tenders amount to AZN 4,190,000 (USD 2.4 million).
The tenders cover three continents and aim to bring a total of 212 individuals – journalists, tourism bloggers, and travel agency representatives – to Azerbaijan from nine countries including Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, China, India, South Korea, Israel, Russia and Belarus.
Then in April, the agency announced three additional tenders totaling AZN 1,830,107 (USD 1,076,533), covering Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and various European countries, including Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Most recently, on June 2, the agency allocated AZN 135,039.37 (USD 79,000) to VATA, a limited liability company, to cover the costs for services related to organizing trips for the anticipated 30 guests, inclusive of journalists, bloggers, and tourism companies from South Korea and Israel.
What is all the fuss about?
Offering all expenses paid trips to foreign visitors may not be an issue in any other country but in Azerbaijan, the recent spree raised eyebrows. For starters, the country's land borders have been closed since the start of the COVID pandemic in 2020.
Over the following years, the official reasons for keeping the borders closed were linked to COVID concerns, but in March 2024 the rationale changed to concerns about national security. Ahead of COP29 in April 2024, President Ilham Aliyev reiterated that while the closed land borders were still a matter of COVID-related restrictions, the issue was more of a security measure at that point.
Closed land borders, however, and limiting access to low-cost regional travel routes, effectively keeps average-income Azerbaijani citizens from accessing affordable tourism options abroad – and by blocking land-based transportation routes, it also prevents tourists on low budgets from visiting the country.
Affordability is another issue. When it comes to staying at resorts built to boost the tourism industry, the costs can be prohibitive for many. While exact prices vary greatly depending on the resort's location, amenities, and season, a brief online search suggests that a night at a mid-range hotel can cost anywhere between AZN 60-80 per night (USD 35-47), while budget guesthouses are between AZN 30-40 (USD 17-23).
Luxury resorts are significantly higher, often in the range of hundreds of Azerbaijani manats per night. For the average Azerbaijani citizen earning around the median wage of AZN 571 per month (USD 335), spending AZN 60-80 per night (USD 35-47) – let alone more – on accommodation for a family vacation can be a substantial burden. Such resorts are therefore largely inaccessible to domestic tourists.
As of January 1, 2025, the monthly minimum wage in Azerbaijan is AZN 400 (approximately USD 235). The average monthly salary, meanwhile, is around AZN 1043 (USD 613). However, this average masks significant inequality, with a median monthly income of AZN 1009 (USD 594), meaning that a substantial portion of the population earns less than the average.
What else should visitors know?
International influencers headed to Azerbaijan won't see these economic inequalities in the pamphlets and advertisements distributed by the state tourism agency. Underneath the lights and glamor that are on display for the public eye, lie social, economic and political grievances that the authorities prefer not to see in the travel videos shared about the country.
By the accounts of local human rights groups, the list of political prisoners in Azerbaijan has reached 375 people; torture, intimidation and abuse of rights is rampant; corruption has seeped through all layers of the government and beyond. Moreover, just like the journalists invited to visit the country, Azerbaijan has its own – yet, many of them are either behind bars, or in exile.
As such, the country's ranking on democracy and freedom indexes has been consistently low. According to the Reporters Without Borders, Azerbaijan most recently ranked ranked 167th out of 180 countries, while Freedom House's most recent Nations in Transit report described the country as being under a “consolidated authoritarian regime.”
There is nothing wrong with promoting a country; however, when that country's leadership has suffocated much of civil society and silenced independent voices, such public relations campaigns may well ring hollow.
