Joint-Stock Company Northern Caucasus Resorts, Russian Federation and JSC Shahdag Tourist Center, Republic of Azerbaijan, signed a memorandum of cooperation and understanding in order to develop the tourism potential of the Caucasian regions. The signing ceremony of the memorandum was held in Baku within the series of Russian-Azerbaijani bilateral meetings before the Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Maxim Oreshkin and the Minister of Economic Development of the Azerbaijan Republic Shahin Mustafayev.

In accordance with the memorandum, the cooperation of JSC NCR, the management company of the North Caucasus tourism cluster, and Shahdag Tourism Center (STC) CJSC, the management company of the first ski resort in Azerbaijan, shall focus on sharing experience in creation, operation and maintenance of ski resorts, operation and development of all-season resorts in summer and winter, developing summer leisure programs. In addition, the parties intend to share experience in using artificial snowing technologies, holding events, including international sports competitions, introduction of quality standards for resort services, and promotion and popularization of tourist product in domestic and foreign markets.

The Deputy Director General of JSC NCR Rustam Tapaev, who signed the memorandum on the Russian side, thanked Azerbaijani colleagues for their willingness to cooperate. ‘Our resorts have always been linked geographically: Shahdag is located in the eastern part of the Greater Caucasus mountain range, and resorts included in the North Caucasian tourism cluster Arkhyz, Elbrus and Veduchi – in the West. The implementation of the Russian and Azerbaijani projects started almost simultaneously: the first stage of Shahdag was opened in December 2012, Arkhyz ATRC was launched for tourists just a year later. In addition, a common feature is the active participation of the state in the development of ski infrastructure,’ he said. ‘I am sure that our cooperation enshrined today in the memorandum will be mutually beneficial and effective, and its result will be growth in popularity of Alpine tourism in the entire Caucasus region,’ Rustam Tapaev concluded.

In turn, the President of Shahdag Tourism Center (STC) CJSC Rustam Najafov noted that since 2016 the Azerbaijani resort has been developing in the tourism and recreational zone established in the District of Qusar of the republic. ‘One of our key tasks is to establish a single management system, and therefore international experience in creation of such tourist zones is actively studied. In this sense, the tourism cluster project run by JSC NCR, uniting five special economic zones and three operating resorts simultaneously, appears to be very interesting,’ he stressed. ‘I hope that mutual exchange of positive experience in the construction and operation of all-season complexes will, over time, develop into exchange of tourist flows, and Russian and Azerbaijani tourists will have an opportunity to try out the ski slopes throughout the Caucasus,’ Rustam Najafov told.