UNESCO Moscow Office for , , , Republic of Moldova and Russian Federation Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation – Azerbaijan Arts Centre

Cultural : Local cases and global trends Seminar programme

Friday, March 25, 2005 10:00 – 11:30 greeting speech, participants’ brief presentations 11:30 – 12:00 coffee break 12:00 – 13:30 Cultural tourism in Azerbaijan^ current state and perspectives (presentation of the projects around cultural and historical heritage site Gobustan) 13:30 – 14:30 lunch 14:30 – 16:00 a series of presentations of project proposals on cultural routes and marketing of museums and cultural resources of the regions 16:00 – 16:30 coffee break 16:30 – 17:30 discussion on presented cases

Saturday, March 26, 2005 10:00 – 11:30 Current international trends in cultural tourism a lecture talk by Greg Richards, professor of Tilburg University (the Netherlands), coordinator of ATLAS, international network for cultural tourism, director of TRAM- Tourism Research and Marketing agency in Barcelona (Spain) 11:30 – 12:00 coffee break 12:00 – 13:30 lecture continued 13:30 – 14:30 lunch 14:30 – 15:30 Discussion over topics of the lecture, Q&A session 15:30 – 16:00 coffee break 16:00 – 17:00 de-briefing, proposals on future collaborative actions Final Report on the project “Cultural policies for tourism” (Azerbaijan )

Currently the tourism sector is at the stage of active development in Azerbaijan under state supervision and support. The Ministry of Youth, Sports and Tourism deals with establishing regulatory mechanisms in the tourism sector, setting standards and qualifications, staff training, and promotion of local tour products and services both within the country and abroad (mostly through fairs, branded image etc.). The local private companies are emerging now, and they just start to think about those tourism products which are targeted towards diversified client demand. Nevertheless, routes with special focus on some experiences, impressions and entertainment which may offer a cultural tour are not available yet on the local market. All those factors allowed to expect that the project on widening knowledge and making new collaborations in the sphere of cultural tourism might be well demanded by professionals in Azerbaijan.

In accordance with outlined list of activities, the project included the following components:

a. Organizing a capacity-building workshop “Cultural policies for tourism” in Baku with participation of governmental representatives, international development agencies, tourism sector businesses, museums, community groups engaged in heritage protection.

The objectives of the seminar were the following:

- - defining prospects for coordinated development of cultural tourism with involvement of actors at various levels and domains within the country and in the regional and international schemes;

- establishing a channel for information exchange and joint actions between policy-makers, agencies and individual enterprises, between cultural and tourism sectors, between international agencies working in the country in the fields as diverse as poverty reduction, SME development, communities empowerment, heritage protection, museum development all having some relation to the issue of cultural tourism.

The seminar indeed gathered representatives of various sectors, and as it turned out, some people were meeting and discussing the matters of common interest for the first time. Local tourism agencies which already were keen to develop niche products and services in tourism sector, were not aware of proposals which are already available in terms of concept and information development, as well cultural;, historical, architectural attribution. The representatives of the Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Youth, Spots and Tourism, invited to the seminar, for the first time were discussing the fact of accepting ‘cultural tourism’ as an important topic into their priorities agenda, moreover the perception of addressing this issue on transversal level in the variety of attitudes has been formulated in the course of lively discussion during the seminar.

b. Creation of information kits on the cases of innovative approach to cultural tourism development containing practical recommendations The information kit includes materials of the PowerPoint presentation of the ideas and information for potential cultural tours which have been shown at the seminar, as well as recommendations by the international expert, Mr. Greg Richards which have been developed after the event in Baku. Those materials compiled in the electronic format are to be distributed soon on CD-ROMs among the seminar participants

c. Compilation of the CD-ROM on mapping exercise of existing resources in fostering cultural tourism. Simultaneously, the research, analysis and compilation work has been done in regard a data-base on cultural tourism potential of the country , a sort of reference material for further development of cultural tours products. It includes interactive map of the country with detailed data on monuments, museums, theatres, galleries and other cultural attractions available in a given locality. This resource is ready for distribution within the target group.

Arts and Culture Program at Open Society Institute AF-Azerbaijan has been involved in raising the issue of cultural tourism over a series of projects in the recent years: Crafts fair in Lahich village, 2001, seminar in Baku on crafts tours with Satu Miettinen (Finland), 2003, concept and marketing development of a week-end tour into carpet-making regions (jointly with EBRD Business Advisory Services Programme, 2004. Recently has been approved a project related with commercial video ads on new cultural tours to be shot by young film-maker crews under guidance of producer Kevin Sullivan (USA). The interest raised by the seminar activities has pointed out to the clear demand for a follow-up project. The scope of the project is to foster development of new cultural routes and tour products to be marketed among local population and tourists visiting Azerbaijan. Those tours are intended to promote local cultural heritage, regenerate interest towards national history and culture and gain the sense of local pride, and indirectly also to help in establishing new jobs in culture-related economy. Project implies the following actions: - Identification of four to five cultural tours throughout Azerbaijan (in consultation with museums, as well as archeology, history, architecture, ethnography specialists) - Development of preliminary tour proposals (description of cultural value and possible duration and routes) - Testing the feasibility and potential attractiveness of proposed tours with tourism companies - Attracting consultancy in developing the details of the tours (scenarios, logistics, on-spot testing, pricing, training for the guides) - Developing the ‘marketing mix’ recommendations for each of tours - Promotion/ visibility event in Baku announcing the results of the project

Jahangir SELIMKHANOV, Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation - Azerbaijan Arts & Culture Programme Director,

Cultural tourism: local cases and global trends

A report based on the seminar held in Baku, 25-26th March 2005

Greg Richards Barcelona [email protected]

The seminar organised to discuss the development of cultural tourism in Azerbaijan was a very successful event, not least because it brought together many of the key players who will be central to the development process. It was very positive that representatives of both the tourism and cultural sectors in Azerbaijan participated actively in the event, indicating a willingness to collaborate which will be a major asset in cultural tourism development and marketing.

This report sets out some initial suggestions about the steps that are needed to create the conditions for successful cultural tourism development in Azerbaijan. It should be emphasised that these conclusions are drawn from the information presented at the seminar rather than an exhaustive study of the state of the supply and demand of cultural tourism in the country.

The document is divided into two parts. First, an assessment of some of the major challenges for cultural tourism development (and tourism development in general) are outlined. The second part then provides some suggestions as to how these problems might be overcome.

Basic issues in cultural and tourism development

Finance and investment needs

Many presentations at the seminar made it clear that lack of resources is a basic obstacle to the development of both cultural and tourism institutions. In a country in which resources for development are limited, it is not surprising that the cultural sector is poorly funded, as this is often seen as a luxury which can only be afforded once other priorities in fields such as health, housing and education are met. Tourism seems to be in a stronger position in this respect, since it is perceived as a potential source of income. As in many other countries, however, tourism is seen as a concern of the private sector since tourism enterprises are perceived as the main beneficiaries of tourism expenditure.

In the context of cultural tourism, it is important to challenge some of these basic assumptions. As culture is the main motivation for cultural tourists, it is important to invest in the cultural attractions and institutions that provide the basic reason for visiting the country. Such investment also needs to take into account the fact that cultural development is not just aimed at tourists, but also centrally at the citizens of Azerbaijan. Cultural development provides not just direct support for cultural tourism through the provision of specific cultural attractions, but also indirectly through increased cultural ‘liveliness’ and creativity, which can help to develop an atmosphere and ambiance which is not only attractive to visitors, but also essential to improving the quality of life of .

It should be emphasised that although tourism development in general requires considerable investment, the development of specific cultural tourism projects need not involve large sums of money. Some fairly modest steps can be taken to improve the product, as outlined in the second part of the document.

Safety

There is a perception in the travel media that Azerbaijan, although politically stable, is not a particularly safe tourist destination. Travel warnings are common on tourism information sites dealing with the country (such as Lonely Planet, for example). This obviously requires action on two fronts – measures to ensure tourist safety, and measures to create a more positive image of Azerbaijan as a safe destination to visit.

Infrastructure

There is a lack of basic infrastructure in both the cultural and tourism sectors to support cultural tourism development. Some of the key issues include:

Accommodation

There is a lack of competitively priced accommodation to cater for the needs of foreign visitors. Particularly in Baku, this is one of the side effects of the oil boom, which has created heavy demand from business travellers and kept hotel prices high.

Information

There is a lack of information provision for tourists, although this issue is at least being partially addressed through the development of the new Tourist Information Office in Baku. However, much work remains to be done in developing information sources which are appropriate to tourist needs and which ca help to attract visitors to the country. These include for example:

Internet based information, which recognises the changing role of tourist information from the previous ‘push’ mode, in which information was broadcast to a wide audience, towards a ‘pull’ mode in which visitors actively seek information that interests them. This requires more creative marketing approaches as well (see below).

Up to date tourist brochures providing more accessible information for visitors. For example, the ‘Guidebook of Baku City’ published by the Ministry of Youth, Tourism and Tourism gives basic factual information, but s not very visitor-orientated. No information is given on museum opening times, for example, and the first entry in the guide is for ‘authorities’, which are of little interest to most leisure tourists.

Signage – there is a basic lack of tourist-orientated signage in Baku, and major cultural sights outside the capital are not well indicated on major highways. More thought needs to be given to the development of uniform signage and the development of routes and itineraries that link major cultural sights.

Training

There is a need to develop human resources for culture and tourism that can deliver the kind of quality services sought by visitors. At a very basic level, this includes issues such as customer service skills, guiding techniques and communication skills. However, in developing cultural tourism there is also a need to consider new skill needs, for example in the development of ‘cultural intermediaries’ who can interpret Azerbaijani cultural to visitors, not just from their own cultural perspective, but also with an understanding of the culture of the visitors. Such skills are important in creating links between locals and visitors and improving the quality of the visitor experience.

Marketing issues

Marketing consists of much more than the promotion of the destination – it also implies development of products that are appropriate to the needs of potential visitors. In this sense, Azerbaijan has a potential to develop new tourism products that are extremely attractive to visitors who desire authentic encounters with the everyday lives and cultures different from their own. In particular, thought needs to be given to the type of experiences that Azerbaijan can develop which are distinctive from those offered by competing destinations. More thought is given to such opportunities later in this report, but the type of issues that need to be addressed at a basic level are:

- How should Azerbaijan position itself as a tourist destination?

- What is the basic cultural image that Azerbaijan wants to project to visitors?

- What resources are there to support this image?

- What new products need to be developed to support cultural tourism?

- What channels should be used to market and promote cultural tourism?

It is important that there is consistency between the answers to these questions. For example, the reality of the cultural tourism product must match the desired image for the country.

In order to decide on a strategy and positioning for Azerbaijan, a strategic review of cultural and tourism resources should be undertaken alongside an analysis of potential visitor markets. The supply and demand for cultural tourism then need to be linked through a product/market matrix or similar analytical tool, in order to identify those products and markets that have particular development potential. In view of the scarce resources available this step is important in setting development priorities. It is clear, for example, that potential exists in linking the desire for travel in the Japanese market with the silk road product. There is a relatively high interest in Japan for textile crafts, and silk is a particularly popular product. However, it needs to be recognised that the Japanese market is also relatively demanding and requires a high level of tourism infrastructure provision. In contrast, the development of backpacker markets may be less attractive from the point of view of daily tourist expenditure, but these can be serviced with minimal investment. Our research indicates that young backpackers have a high level of interest in culture, just as their older counterparts do.

The analysis of the market should also be used as the basis for a more comprehensive national data collection system which will allow trends in tourism to be identified, and the development of specific niches such as cultural tourism to be monitored.

Having identified suitable product/market combinations, these need to be developed through the coordinated efforts of the tourism industry, the Ministries of Tourism ad Culture and the cultural sector. At present, much product development (such as Silk Road tours featuring Azerbaijan) is driven by foreign tour operators. This provides little opportunity for strategic development of new markets and/or products that can help to achieve the wider tourism and cultural aims of the country.

More attention also needs to be paid to promoting tourism through the general media and specific travel media (including Internet travel sites) and guide books. This could be achieved through the development of familiarisation visits by journalists, particularly if these are linked to the launch of new products or cultural events.

Collaboration

Attention should be paid to the opportunities for collaboration both inside the country and internationally.

Internally it is important to maintain the dialogue and opportunities for collaboration between the cultural and tourism sectors. The tourism sector needs cultural resources to create an attractive tourism product, and the cultural sector needs the marketing expertise of the tourism sector to attract visitors. There is already collaboration between museums in some areas, but this could be expanded to include marketing and tourism issues as well.

Internationally there is some collaboration developing around products such as the Silk Road, but this activity should be encouraged and expanded.

Cultural Products and Attractions

There is no doubt that Azerbaijan already has much to offer potential tourists in terms of both tangible and intangible heritage. However, there are also a number of problems in the development of cultural attractions for tourism.

Information and interpretation

There is a need to update the information provided about cultural attractions to tourists, and to improve the tourist experience through better interpretation. At present there seems to be a relative lack of information, animation and souvenirs available at some of the main cultural sites.

Museums still seem to be very product centred, with an emphasis on physical presentation of objects, rather than presenting information in a way that is enjoyable for the visitors. Although the central function of museums is always educational, most tourists also have a need for a certain level of entertainment as well. In much of Northern Europe, for example, museums have switched to a more visitor-centred approach to display, and a wider use of animation and interactive technology in their presentations. Museums visitors are also becoming much more used to the individual consumption of the exhibits, moving through the museum unguided and at their own pace. A new approach by museums in Azerbaijan will require updating of displays, but above all a new approach to the relationship between the museum and its visitors.

Creative industries

At the moment most of the cultural tourism product of Azerbaijan seems to be related to the presentation of cultural heritage. However there is also an opportunity to broaden the range of cultural products through the stimulation of creative enterprises that can cater for tourists and residents. The creative industries can provide considerable synergies with cultural tourism. For example, the development of the film industry provides images which help to market the country abroad, as well as bringing film makers and film crews in as ‘tourists’. Successful films can also create a motive for tourists to visit, as is clear from the promotional role of The Lord of the Rings in New Zealand. Creative activities can also be used as the basis of souvenir production and the development of attractive retail outlets for local goods.

Souvenirs

At the moment there is a shortage of appropriate souvenirs for tourists to buy. This reduces the revenue potential of tourism as well as limiting the dissemination of images of the country abroad. There is a role for the application of creative solutions to the production of appropriate souvenirs that are affordable as well as transportable. For example, already produces a wide range of carpet- based souvenirs (bags, clothes, etc) that could easily be reproduced (or improved upon) using Azeri textiles as a basis.

Opportunities

Networking

The networking basis established by the seminar should be strengthened and extended to cover all actors within the cultural tourism market. This can be supported by the scheduling of regular meetings as a physical bridge between the sectors, as well as stimulating communication through newsletters and Internet. Links should be made with international networks that can help to disseminate information about the country and develop new tourism markets.

Heritage and ‘roots’ tourism

Various forms of heritage tourism products have development potential in Azerbaijan. Ethnic groups abroad which have links with the country, such as the Azeri diaspora in the for example, can be used to generate interest in travelling to Azerbaijan and in developing ‘back to the roots’ tours. The same principle could also be applied to the development of Jewish heritage in Baku, although this is likely to meet with greater scepticism, at least initially.

Different immigrant groups with the country can also be a source of cultural tourism development. Not only do long term residents from other countries tend to attract their friends and relatives to visit, but some will also be looking for opportunities to develop activities for themselves in the tourism and cultural fields. In many countries, the creation of small scale accommodation and tour operating businesses is an important means of entering the employment market. Some of those accompanying oil industry workers would probably welcome opportunities to develop creative activities working in their own language with tourists (although this may have labour legislation implications that would need to be investigated). One advantage of this strategy is that most of these people will already have a relatively high skill level, and they come with a built-in network of foreign contacts.

Heritage conservation

One of the most effective ways of safeguarding cultural heritage and addressing capacity problems in the accommodation industry is to make more use of old buildings for hotels. This has already been tried on a small scale, but there is a lot of potential for kick-starting redevelopment processes through rehabilitation for tourism use. This strategy also appeals to the desire of many tourists to stay in ‘authentic’ buildings.

There is potential to begin developing a chain of restored buildings across the country which could provide the same kind of impetus as the Paradores in Spain or the smaller scale ‘manor houses’ in Portugal. This type of branding has proved very effective even when the range of building types and periods is extremely varied. It is worth exploring the possibility of developing a ‘caravanserai’ accommodation brand, building on the attractions of the many restaurants already operating in such buildings. This would link well with the Silk Road concept, and provide a ready basis for the development of touring holidays.

Cultural Routes

The development of new cultural routes linking major cultural attractions within the country could help to focus attention on these sites as well as providing a basis for collaboration. These routes could cover a wide range of themes, although it is probably best to start with those that already have have a degree of recognition, such as the Silk Road.

By developing creative and high quality attractions along such routes, Azerbaijan could help to divert more international tourism traffic along its section of the Silk Road, in the same way in which the well- maintained Caravanserai drew merchants in the past.

Theming

As part of the development of cultural routes and attractions, thought should be given to the these which can be used to attract tourists and stimulate collaboration. Ideally, these themes should cover both broad and specialised market segments in cultural tourism.

The development of themes and products related to special interests can help to attract foreign tourists who otherwise would not consider coming to Azerbaijan. Because they are interested in a particular subject, they need to be convinced that Azerbaijan can offer them opportunities to develop their own interests better than other regions or countries.

The areas in which such themes and products can be developed in very broad, and could include:

Culture

Literature History Gastronomy Textiles Etc.

Nature

Specific flora and fauna unique to the region Unique habitats Mountains Ect.

Knowledge

Specific areas of knowledge in which Azerbaijan has a particular advantage, such as the oil industry.

Accommodation

Though should be given to providing an appropriate mix of accommodation related to the main cultural tourism centres and routes. There is a need to expand the overall supply of accommodation, particularly in Baku, and there is a need to link this accommodation to international distribution systems. The development of a branded ‘heritage accommodation’ product, noted above, could usefully be supplemented with the development of budget accommodation of international standard which can cater for the growing independent traveller market.

Funding

In order to support the development of a number of these initiatives, it is worth examining different avenues for funding, particularly from international bodies. There are a number of programmes that could be used to provide resources (either in terms of money or human resources) for cultural tourism development. These include the bodies already funding projects in Azerbaijan, such as the UNDP and the , but there are also opportunities to use sources such as the EU TEMPUS, Ford Foundation, Sasakawa Foundation, etc.

Information

The need for information on cultural tourism could be met at relatively little cost through the use of students to survey tourists in different parts of the country. Use could be made of the survey materials from the ATLAS Cultural Tourism Project, which already has questionnaires available in English, Russian, Japanese and other relevant languages. Masters students could also be attracted from other countries to undertake studies of specific attractions as part of their studies, at minimal cost. In the longer term more structural approaches to the provision of information will need to be adopted, but these relatively cheap and flexible methods can provide a good basis in the meantime.

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS:

“Gobustan among civilizations” festival Punhan Hasanli

Firuza Sultan-zadeh Cultural Heritage Safeguarding Project, “Ecosphere” NGO

Leyla Huseynova Cultural Heritage Safeguarding Project “Girdman” Culture and Country research Сenter Rustam Rustamov

Arif Kheyrulla-zadeh “Discovery-travel” Azerbaijan State Museum of Carpet and People Gulshen Sultanova Applied Arts named after Latif Karimov

Shohret Mammadov Shabran-D tourist agency

Sabina Agamirova Ministry of culture of AR

Nazim Samadov Ministry of culture of AR

Elina Butayeva “Granit AS” tourist company

Ruslan Guliyev “Caspian invest commerce” tourist company

Oyrad Rustam-zadeh “Azintertur” international tourist company Farah Huseyn “Ecosphere” NGO

Fahraddin Zamanov “Digital Age” multimedia company

Mustafa Huseynov “Xatt Research” Ziya Mammadov “Xatt Research” Azerbaijan State Museum of Carpet and People Roya Tagiyeva Applied Arts named after Latif Karimov Azerbaijan State Museum of Carpet and People Narmina Tagiyeva Applied Arts named after Latif Karimov

Fuad Rasulov “Orient Travel”

Aydin Agayev “Azintourist” co.LTD

Parvana Mammadova TCTI / World Bank Irada Ahmadova UNDP

Jafar Jafarov UNDP tourism development program

Togrul Efendiyev “Digital Age”

Farid Mammadli Cultural Heritage Safeguarding Project

Huseyn Huseyn-zadeh Cultural Heritage Safeguarding Project

Emin Mehdiyev Cultural Heritage Safeguarding Project

Leyla Aliyeva National and International Researches Center Yashar Mammadov “Baku - Tur” ATA Rizvan Bayramov Ministry of Culture of AR

Malahat Farajova Gobustan State Historical-artistic reserve Orhan Mammad-zadeh National and International Researches Center Idris Aliyev National and International Researches Center Azada Huseynova Ministry of Culture of AR

Rena Abubekirova “Rantour” tourist company