Nargiz HASANLI

This article examines the travel and tourism business confidence indexes in Azerbaijan. The study is based on the 2019 travel and tourism competitiveness index report of 140 countries, conducted by the world economic forum in collaboration with Deloitte, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) report, Azerbaijan's rank and position among 140 countries surveyed are analyzed in the following key areas: (1) the travel and tourism regulatory framework; (2) travel and tourism business environment and infrastructure; and (3) travel and tourism policy and condition improvement, (4) cultural and natural resources. Azerbaijan's position in the report is taken from the study of what Ojo, Busayo and Raja Yusof did in 2014, and is subjected to a five-point likert scale: 1-30, excellent; 31-60, good, 61-90, medium 91-120 and 121 and above, poor for ease of interpretation. The findings show that the travel and tourism regulatory framework supporting tourism investment in Azerbaijan is not encouraging, and the current state of the Azerbaijani travel and tourism business environment and infrastructure does not encourage tourism investment and the human, cultural and natural resources required for travel. Tourism investment in Azerbaijan is in a sad state. In the light of the findings, the study suggests various solutions to improve the competitiveness index of the tourism sector in Azerbaijan.

Keywords: Azerbaijan Travel Index,Competition, WEF report