P.Mone: tourism in Azerbaijan is expensive

In spite of the expansion of relations between France and Azerbaijan, cooperation potential is not fully used, said  on May 27 at the meeting with reporters the Ambassador of France to Azerbaijan Pascal Monnier with reporters.

In particular,  according to Monier such a sphere is agriculture. However,  at the Azerbaijani market is still under-represented French cheeses and wines.

Asking the question  on the  trouble caused by  customs restrictions, the ambassador said that at the  recent forum of the Asian Development Bank was noted  the need for simplification of customs procedures.

Noting the high potential of tourism in Azerbaijan, the ambassador pointed to factors that hinder this area. Tourism in Azerbaijan is very complicated and expensive. Thus, only the airfare between Baku and Paris is 500 manat. With this amount  French tourists can make a week-long tour in Portugal, Turkey, Tunisia, Morocco, and stay in a comfortable hotel, Monnier said.

Another problem is getting the Azerbaijani  visas. The procedure lasts two or three weeks. In addition,  if tourists   come to  Azerbaijan and forget to  register upon departure they will be fined 300 euros. The ambassador wanted to use the experience of Kazakhstan, which at the time  abolished visas for France and other European countries.

Embassy of France, for its part, has simplified the issuance of visas. This year, the Embassy issued by two  times more visas than in the same period last year - 4131 versus 1988. At the same time, the number of failures reduced by half, and made up only 2.5%.  –06С-