New cooperation opportunities in tourism discussed at Russian and Azerbaijan forum

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Makhachkala, June 25, 2014. A round table on "New cooperation opportunities in tourism", moderated by Deputy Head of the Federal Tourism Agency Grigory Sarishvili and 1st Deputy Azerbaijan Minister of Culture and Tourism Vagif Aliyev, was held at the 5th Russian and Azerbaijan forum "Interregional cooperation: new growth potential", a source in the press service of Daghestani Head and government’s administration informed RIA "Daghestan".

Participants discussed further development of cultural relations between Russia and Azerbaijan, opportunities and prospects for expanding cooperation in tourism, creating conditions for increasing the bilateral tourist flows, and developing joint historical, cultural, and tourist programs and routes.

"Daghestan is an open-air museum, where every village has its own history, and Derbent is a unique museum, the oldest city in Russia. Moreover, there are a lot of wonderful monuments of nature for aesthetic recreation in Daghestan," said advisor to Daghestan Tourism Committee chair Natalia Belamerzaeva, noting Daghestan has a great potential not only in developing traditional beach tourism, but also in winter’s ski tourism, as well as in cultural, historical, and ethnographic tourism, which can prove an alternative to the beach and winter tourism.

She also proposed to include Daghestan on the list of visa-free Russian regions where tourists can stay for 72 hours. This measure could help attract more foreign tourists and create new jobs and tourist facilities, providing additional revenue for domestic travel agents to increase the tax revenues.

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