OREANDA-NEWS. July 22, 2011. In the first half-year the rate of tourists arriving in Azerbaijan increased by 14%.

The Ministry of Culture & Tourism reports that at the meeting o the theme of the Action Plan for the Year of Tourism culture minister Abulfaz Garayev said that 1.16 million tourists visited the country in the first half of the year.

"The growth for the past 6 months was 14.8%. This is a positive trend and we should need to keep it," Garayev said.

Last year the country was visited by 1.968 million foreign nationals.

"Currently construction of 43 hotels and hotel-type facilities is under way aaround the country. According to our estimates, the number of seats will increase by 10-12% compared to last year," Garayev said.