Guests of first European Games in Baku to be provided with guides - ministry of culture

Baku, Azerbaijan, May 6 By Ilkhama Isabalayeva – Trend: There won’t be any problems with providing guides for tourists in Azerbaijan during the first European Games, head of the department of Information and Public Relations of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism Vugar Shikhmammadov told Trend May 6. He said that work with guides is carried out by travel companies, the ministry does not interfere in this process. Companies engaged in domestic tourism in Azerbaijan are ready to provide guides for tourists, said the head of the department. Guides take part in courses at the Azerbaijan University of Tourism and Management, after which they get a special guide card, said Shikhmammadov. Rector of Azerbaijan University of Tourism and Management Jafar Jafarov told Trend May 6 that the volunteers, students of the university, will join professional guides during the first European Games. “In this capacity, about 500 students were registered,” he said. Azerbaijan's tourism potential is increasing as does the flow of tourists into the country. As Azerbaijan's Minister of Culture and Tourism Abulfaz Garayev said at the Caspian Energy Forum – 2015, the country aims to increase the flow of tourists by 30-40 percent within several years. Garayev said Azerbaijan plans to be receiving some 5 million of tourists annually by 2020. Baku 2015 is the first-ever European Games, an exciting and innovative multi-sport event for the continent which will take place on June 12-28, 2015. There will be a total of 20 sports at Baku 2015: 16 Olympic sports and four non-Olympic sports. More than 6,000 athletes from across Europe will be representing their nations over 17 days of competition. Baku was awarded the games by the European Olympic Committees (EOC) in December 2012. Edited by CN Follow us on Twitter @TRENDNewsAgency