Ilham Aliyev has attended the opening of “Qafqaz Yengicə Termal Hotel and SPA” complex in Gabala.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has attended the opening of “Qafqaz Yengicə Termal Hotel and SPA” complex in Gabala.

The head of state cut the ribbon symbolizing the official opening of the facility.

President Ilham Aliyev was informed that located in the village of Yengica, the complex occupies a total area of 9 hectares.

The six-storey hotel complex was built in a beautiful architectural style. The hotel, which has 61 rooms, will offer a variety of high quality services to guests.

It was noted that the hotel has highly-trained personnel, most of whom are locals. Wide halls in the complex are well-suited for hosting various meetings and conferences. There is a network of restaurants offering dishes of the Azerbaijani and foreign cuisine.

The head of state reviewed the rooms of the hotel. It was said that the beautifully designed rooms meet the highest standards. The construction of state-of-the-art tourism and recreation facilities, hotel complexes both in Baku and the regions of Azerbaijan is the result of the attention being paid to this area. The creation of excellent conditions at “Qafqaz Yengicə Termal Hotel and SPA” complex once again proves that hotel business is developing and playing a growing role in the non-oil sector in Azerbaijan.

Necessary conditions were created here to ensure children's rest. There are special gyms offering a wide range of services, including different sports equipment and pools. “Qafqaz Yengicə Termal Hotel and SPA” complex will create 100 permanent jobs.

The area of the complex was fully landscaped and green areas created here.

The conditions in the complex demonstrate that under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev constant attention is paid to defining tourism routes across the country and implementing large-scale measures on this front in the regions.

It was said that there was a source of healing water in the complex, which considerably increases its importance. Historical researches, chemical and medical examinations have proved that this water has high medicinal and restorative qualities.

The hotel will also provide treatment with Naftalan oil.

Then President Ilham Aliyev had a meeting with local residents.

President Ilham Aliyev said:

- A new hotel is being put into operation in Gabala District. I congratulate you on this wonderful event! I have just toured the hotel. There are excellent conditions and the service will be provided at the highest level. This hotel will also be very important for the development of the tourism potential of Gabala. For the number of hotels Gabala is now second only to Baku. This pleases me a lot because the region has excellent travel opportunities. I am glad that we have been making the most of these opportunities in recent years.

Five-, four- and three-star hotels are built in Gabala. What makes this hotel special is that people will be using therapeutic waters here. Of course, the influx of tourists will further increase. The construction of Gabala International Airport has paved the way for foreign visitors. Their number is on the increase. Citizens of Azerbaijan are also having rest here. These are great and momentous events because they serve the development of the region, Gabala District and, at the same time, our country as a whole.

The hotels built in Gabala today are at the highest level. In other words, they all meet modern standards and have excellent opportunities for recreation. Gabala, at the same time, is becoming a cultural center. Traditional music festivals are held here and the number of visitors is growing. After getting acquainted with Gabala, foreign visitors return home and, of course, share their impressions. Thus, interest in the region and city grows even more. Of course, this creates new opportunities for people. There are several villages on this territory. Residents of these villages will also be using them.

Jobs are being created. Thousands of jobs have been created. A growing number of people work in tourism facilities.

They gain experience and at the same time get a good salary. Thus, the tourism sector of our country is developing rapidly.

Of course, from the tourism development perspective, our capital Baku is in the first place. All of the world’s major hotel chains are now represented in Baku. Over the past two to three years six five-star hotels were built in our city. All of these hotels provide services at the highest level. In a matter of two years such hotels as “Marriot”, “Hilton”, “Kempinski”, “Jumeirah”, “Fairmont”, “Four Seasons” have been launched in Baku. These six hotel chains are among the world’s best.

Then come “Sheraton”, “Hyatt”, “Radisson”. This demonstrates the development of our country and reflects investor confidence in the future of Azerbaijan.

This process is now under way in the regions. I am glad that beautiful hotels are also opening in other districts and I personally attend all the opening ceremonies. For example, beautiful hotel “Rixos” has recently opened in Shamakhi. In Guba, along with a modern hotel, a big golf course has been opened. There are also naftalan baths there. This is also a very accurate step because before that people could use the naftalan healing mud only in Naftalan proper. Naftalan is now home to two five-star hotels. A third one will be opened soon.

So this process is under way in all our regions. I am very pleased with the competition between cities in the development of tourism because this is a healthy competition. We have a very beautiful country, beautiful nature, diverse climate, different natural areas, mountains, rivers, forests. Of course, we must make the most of all this so that citizens and the state could derive maximum benefit.

We have a strong economy. Of course, our oil and gas sector is developing. A historic event has taken place recently. Over the next decades, perhaps even for more than 100 years, Azerbaijan will be supplying its energy resources to world markets. And we will get revenues from this. But we should strive to develop the non-oil industrial sectors, the service and tourism sectors. Tourism is a constant source of revenues. It simply requires the relevant infrastructure. Roads, the airport and, of course, all infrastructure projects – water, sewage, gas, electricity, hotels and high-quality service.

The hotels operating in Gabala provide a very good service. I am sure that this will be the case here too and new jobs will be created for the local population.

I heartily congratulate you on this wonderful event and I wish you success!