On June 7, 2023, a meeting was held with the residents of Bilav village of Ordubad district in order to develop rural tourism in Bilav village of Ordubad district. Iqbal Huseynov, the representative of the Ordubad district executive authority for the Bilav village administrative territorial district, said that all the villages of the autonomous republic have high conditions that meet modern requirements for widespread rural tourism. Positive qualities such as the antiquity of its history, the colorful nature, the richness of its cuisine and the hospitality of people indicate the wide development opportunities of rural green tourism in these villages. As a result of increasing the standard of living and employment of the existing social infrastructure, the transition to a comfortable lifestyle is accelerating, which increases the number of people who want to spend their holidays in pleasant mountain villages, especially on hot summer days.
Later, the Director of Nakhchivan Tourism Information Center, Saleh Guluyev, made a speech and stated that the attention and care given to the field of tourism at the state level in the autonomous republic had a significant impact on the development of this field. Today, even the most remote mountain villages of the autonomous republic have been laid comfortable asphalt roads, water lines have been laid, modern infrastructure facilities have been built, uninterrupted natural gas, electricity, communication service and high-speed internet have been put into use. He noted that the existence of fertile land, pure water, clean air, rich medicinal plants, abundant sunshine in the autonomous republic opens wide opportunities for the development of ecological tourism. Bichanak, Kuku, Agbulag, Nursu, Kechili, Khanegah, Dirnis, Anagut, Nasirvaz, Bist, Tivi, Shahbulag, Gumushlu, Arafsa and other settlements of the ancient land have specific characteristics for the development of rural green tourism. The speaker said that those who want to relax in a different environment away from the noise of the city usually prefer rural tourism.
The reporter brought to the attention of the villagers that the list and photos of the houses for rent in the villages are posted on the website of the Nakhchivan Tourism Information Center in the "Hostels and houses for rent" section. Also, this section contains the type of rented object, the region and village where it is located, contact numbers of the entrepreneur, detailed information about the object and other notes. As a result of placing all this information, guests searching on the Internet have the opportunity to establish direct contact with the owners of rural houses. The Internet site of the Nakhchivan Tourism Information Center plays the role of a kind of mediator between the visitors to the village and the owners of the village houses.
ElshanMehraliyev, chief consultant of the tourism development and promotion sector of the Tourism Department of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, made a speech and said that in recent years, rural tourism has expanded in the autonomous republic as well as in the rest of the world. More and more people prefer to spend their rest in a different way, they prefer to relax in villages and country houses instead of resorts, big cities, hotels. At the same time, ecological problems of cities, air pollution, and food produced by industrial methods increase people's need for rural areas that preserve their naturalness and cleanliness.
The speaker noted that it is the result of the attention and care shown by the state to the development of rural tourism that recently various recreation centers have been put into use in the autonomous republic. Various services are provided to local and foreign tourists in the "Khan Chinar" recreation center in Anagut village of Ordubad district, where the opening ceremony was held in May of last year, and in a small recreation complex created by a resident of Lakatag village of Julfa district on the river bank in the area where the Alinja River crosses. As in the whole world, in the autonomous republic there is a great interest and demand for accommodation services in rural houses. Considering this, people who want to rent their house to tourists can apply to the Tourism Department of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic or the relevant village executive office.
At the end of the event, the questions of the villagers were answered and the participants of the event were presented with booklets that reflect the tourism potential of the autonomous republic.