Azerbaijan’s President Plans Super Resort (13-Jun-11)

More details of a planned new ski resort in Azerbaijan...

More details of a planned new ski resort in Azerbaijan have been unveiled when the oil-rich nation recently staged the 2011 Ajerbaijan International Travel and Tourism Fair.

The country’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, personally overseen by President Ilham Aliyev has taken on the task of building a world class alpine ski resort called Shahdag.

Located in the Caucasus mountain below Shahdag peak (4243 m), the resort will operate 10 lifts serving 17 slopes.

Azerbaijan is one of the world’s fastest growing and most prosperous countries, currently at the centre of a huge transportation infrastructure building programme with rail, road, air traffic, even a new port on the Caspian all underway thanks to oil revenue.

While Azerbaijan’s tourism lags behind the country’s booming industrial might, it is gaining ground with the twin assets of the Caspian Sea with its moderate climate for beach developments and the high Caucasus above.