Azerbaijani Minister of Culture and Tourism attends international conference in Sochi

Baku, June 17 (AZERTAC). An Azerbaijani delegation led by Minister of Culture and Tourism Abulfas Garayev has attended the international conference titled “Mega Events for Sustainable Tourism Development” in Sochi, the Russian Federation.

The event was co-organized by the Federal Agency for Tourism of the Russian Federation and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) aiming at discussing the challenges and opportunities of tourism destinations for hosting mega events.

The Azerbaijani delegation included Administration Director of Shahdag Mountain Resort Emin Hashimov, Deputy Head of Tourism Department at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism Rauf Pashayev and Director of the Baku Tourism Information Center Zakir Aliyev.

The event was also attended by the tourism ministers of Argentine, Russia, Bulgaria, Greece, Egypt, Spain, Kazakhstan, China, as well as UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai.

Addressing the event, Abulfas Garayev said that the Eurovision-2012 song contest held in Baku played an important role in the development of tourism in Azerbaijan.

The Azerbaijani Minister also held bilateral meetings with Russian counterpart Vladimir Medinsky, UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai and Sochi city mayor Anatoly Pakhomov