Hotel revenues increased by 0.4%

In the first half of 2014 total revenue of 527 hotels and other hotel-type enterprises amounted to 79.8 million manat, which is 0.4% more than in the comparable period of 2013.

Approximately 70% of revenue was gained from renting rooms. The State Statistics Committee does not publish data on the profitability of the hotel business in the first half.

During the reporting period hotels received 319,000 people. This is 0.5% more than in January-June of 2013. In this case, 58.8% of residents were citizens of foreign countries. Number of overnight stays in hotels was 711,800, of which 70.5% accounted for by the city of Baku.

The average cost of accommodation in the hotels was 77.8 manat. In Baku, the figure was 125.9 manat.

The number of employees at the hotels in early July increased year on year by 5.9% and amounted to more than 8 100 people at a nominal average monthly wage of 469 manat.

Some experts citing official data on the number of foreign tourists and the dynamics of domestic tourism, note that as in other sectors of the real economy of Azerbaijan, in the hotel business there is a dark side. Part of the placements are not reflected in the accounting records, hiding income from the entertainment, food and so forth services. These negative effects are widely practiced in the tourist regions of the country.

The number of hotel rooms on the 1st of July was 16,876, which allow to place 34,731 people. One-third at a time of placement (11 800) accounted for the city of Baku. --08D--