Baku Leads Azerbaijan Tourism Despite an Over Seven Percent Decline in Arrivals as Nearly Five Million Airport Passengers and Shusha Growth Reveal a Changing Travel Market

Baku continues to dominate Azerbaijan’s tourism and aviation landscape in 2026, accounting for 58.8% of the country’s hotel nights during the first half of the year while Heydar Aliyev International Airport handled more than 4.9 million passengers through August. At the same time, Azerbaijan’s international visitor market is changing rather than growing uniformly. Total foreign arrivals declined 7.8%, but arrivals from the European Union and CIS countries increased. Beyond the capital, Shusha is expanding its accommodation infrastructure, adding another dimension to Azerbaijan’s developing regional tourism landscape.

Azerbaijan Tourism 2026 at a Glance

Official figures come from Azerbaijan’s State Statistical Committee, Heydar Aliyev International Airport and the Presidency of Azerbaijan.

Baku Accounts for Nearly Six in Ten Hotel Nights

Baku remains the clear centre of Azerbaijan’s accommodation market.

The State Statistical Committee recorded approximately 1.808 million overnight stays in hotels and hotel-type establishments across Azerbaijan during January–June 2026.

Baku alone accounted for 58.8% of those nights. Based on the national total and official share, this is equivalent to roughly 1.06 million hotel nights, although the percentage rather than this calculated figure is the directly reported statistic.

The concentration demonstrates the capital’s scale within Azerbaijan’s accommodation sector.

Foreign visitors also played a major role nationally. Official statistics recorded approximately 1.070 million overnight stays by foreigners, representing 59.2% of all hotel nights during the period.

Baku Airport Handles More Than 4.9 Million Passengers

Baku’s tourism importance is reinforced by its position as Azerbaijan’s primary international aviation gateway.

Heydar Aliyev International Airport handled more than 4.9 million passengers during January–August 2026, according to official airport figures.

A total of 39,525 flights were handled during the eight-month period.

The airport also recorded 373,733 transfer passengers, representing a substantial 34% year-on-year increase.

Baku Aviation Performance

The increase in transfer passengers is particularly relevant when assessing Baku’s position as an aviation gateway. However, airport passenger figures should not be treated as tourism arrivals because they include different passenger categories, including transfer traffic.

Azerbaijan Welcomes 1.586 Million Foreign Arrivals

National visitor data provide a more complex picture.

Azerbaijan received 1.586 million foreigners and stateless persons from 191 countries during January–August 2026.

This represented a 7.8% decline compared with the corresponding period of 2025.

The figure is important because it prevents the strong aviation and accommodation statistics from being incorrectly presented as evidence that every tourism indicator increased in 2026.

Instead, Azerbaijan is experiencing different trends across individual source markets.

EU and CIS Arrivals Increase Despite Overall Decline

Two important regional markets recorded growth.

Arrivals from European Union member countries increased 6.6% to 77,800 during January–August 2026.

Arrivals from CIS countries increased 3.1% to 619,500.

The Gulf market moved in the opposite direction. Arrivals from Gulf countries fell 33.3% to 192,000.

Azerbaijan’s Changing International Visitor Mix

These figures show why Azerbaijan’s 2026 tourism performance cannot be accurately described with a single growth percentage.

Some markets expanded while others contracted sharply.

Air Travel Dominates International Entry Into Azerbaijan

Aviation was overwhelmingly the most important mode used by international arrivals.

Official statistics show 73.1% of foreign and stateless visitors entered Azerbaijan by air during January–August.

Another 25.5% arrived by rail and road, while only 1.4% entered by sea.

The figures help explain the importance of aviation capacity to Azerbaijan’s tourism economy.

With almost three-quarters of international arrivals entering by air, connectivity through Baku and other airports remains closely linked with international tourism accessibility.

Shusha Accounts for a Growing Regional Accommodation Presence

Beyond Baku, Shusha is developing its position within Azerbaijan’s accommodation landscape.

The State Statistical Committee reported that Shusha accounted for 1.8% of nationwide hotel nights during January–June 2026.

The percentage remains considerably below Baku’s 58.8% share, but Shusha’s accommodation infrastructure is also undergoing development.

Official information from the Presidency of Azerbaijan reported in July 2026 that restoration and construction had been completed on four additional buildings of the Yasaman Hotel complex.

Yasaman Hotel Adds Restored Buildings in Shusha

The Yasaman Hotel development provides a tangible example of new tourism accommodation infrastructure in Shusha.

According to the Presidency, two restored hotel buildings had already begun receiving guests after earlier work was completed in 2023.

The subsequent phase involved restoration and construction work on another four buildings, completed by July 2026.

The project also incorporates architectural features associated with traditional Shusha houses.

This links accommodation development with the city’s architectural character rather than creating tourism infrastructure entirely detached from its surrounding built environment.

Baku and Shusha Show Two Different Tourism Development Patterns

The official figures reveal two distinct elements of Azerbaijan’s tourism landscape.

Baku operates at national scale. It accounts for nearly six in ten hotel nights and contains the country’s principal international aviation gateway, which processed more than 4.9 million passengers through August.

Shusha operates at a much smaller accommodation scale, accounting for 1.8% of national hotel nights, but its hotel infrastructure continues to develop through restoration and construction projects such as Yasaman Hotel.

Meanwhile, international arrivals reveal a changing source-market structure. Overall foreign arrivals declined 7.8%, even as EU arrivals increased 6.6% and CIS arrivals rose 3.1%.

Azerbaijan Tourism Enters a More Complex Phase in 2026

Azerbaijan’s official 2026 data show that tourism development cannot be measured through visitor arrivals alone.

Baku’s 58.8% share of national hotel nights, more than 4.9 million airport passengers and 34% increase in transfer traffic reinforce its position at the centre of the country’s tourism and aviation system. Shusha, meanwhile, is adding accommodation infrastructure while already accounting for 1.8% of national hotel nights.

International demand presents a more varied picture. Azerbaijan welcomed 1.586 million foreign and stateless arrivals through August, but the total declined 7.8%. Within that result, EU and CIS markets expanded while Gulf arrivals contracted substantially.

Together, the official statistics show an Azerbaijan tourism sector in transition: Baku remains dominant, aviation connectivity is strengthening, Shusha’s accommodation base is developing, and the composition of international visitor demand is changing.

Image: State Tourism Agency of Azerbaijan