Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has received the Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization, Taleb Rifai.

The Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization, Taleb Rifai, expressed his gratitude to the head of the state for the perfect conditions for the development of tourism in Azerbaijan. He pointed to the importance of Azerbaijan’s election as vice-president of the United Nations World Tourism Organization for Europe at the Organization’s General Assembly in Korea. Taleb Rifai conveyed the message of the Organization with an invitation for Azerbaijan to join the World Tourism Organization’s Golden Book movement.

Stressing that 2011 has been declared as the Year of Tourism in Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev said that tourism sector is one of the priority areas for the state. The President said that the country has a beautiful nature and different climatic zones and added that the efforts to create a modern and attractive tourism infrastructure would be further intensified.