By Vestnik Kavkaza
The authors of a documentary about Azerbaijan came to such an unexpected conclusion. The film was broadcast by the Tenth Channel of Israeli TV, one of the most popular channels in the country, on October 9th. At first sight, the film is focused on the recent achievements of Azerbaijani athletes and the growing role of Azerbaijan in world sport; and that the heads of the Israeli Ministry of Culture and Sports should learn from Azerbaijan.
However, the film speaks about the successes of the republic in other spheres as well: an atmosphere of true tolerance in everything that is connected with interreligious and interethnic relations in Azerbaijan and the country’s improving image in the world. A significant part of the film is devoted to Baku. The authors of the film call the Azerbaijani capital one of the most beautiful cities in the world, which can compete with London and Paris in its tourist potential.
Probably the movie was shot ahead of a campaign to attract Israeli tourists to Azerbaijan. The heads of some Israeli tourist agencies told Vestnik Kavkaza that Israelis had great interest in Azerbaijan, and this factor could be a basis for tourism development. At the moment the first tourist groups to Azerbaijan are planned to be formed (probably the tours will include a trip to Georgia as well).
There are two problems on the way to fulfillment of the task. First of all, a decision on expanding air connections between the countries, which was made by the governments, hasn’t been implemented yet (the Israelis blame the Azerbaijani side for this, which rejected their demands on providing security). Secondly, the Israeli Anti-Terrorism Staff still includes Azerbaijan on the list of countries which are not recommended to visit by Israelis, as they could become victims of Iranian agents or terrorists from other Muslim countries. According to Israeli tour agencies, these concerns are exaggerated.
