Azerbaijan’s capital city is hosting a shopping lover’s dream – its first-ever Shopping Festival, which began on Monday and runs through May 10 – in an attempt to boost tourism and stimulate the city’s retail sector.
“We’re going to host this festival twice a year,” said Abulfaz Garayev, Azerbaijan’s Culture and Tourism minister, at a press conference launching the event. “This is an all-new project for Azerbaijan. The main goal here is to give an impetus to tourism in our country, as well as apply novelties in the country’s trade system.”
For exactly one month visitors are able to purchase items throughout malls and specialty pop-up shops at favorable prices, and save 18 percent on purchases, thanks to a government tax rebate program.
The “tax free” incentive pays back foreign customers the 18 percent value added tax (VAT) normally charged on most consumer goods sold in Azerbaijan, for items worth at least 100 manat, or USD $58. Meant to boost sales primarily in the retail sector, the reimbursement program does not apply to food items, medicines, vehicles and excisable good, like gasoline.
International brands available from retailers throughout the city include Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Chloe, Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, Givenchy, Hugo Boss, Jimmy Choo, Ralph Lauren, Roberto Cavalli, Salvatore Ferragamo and many others.
Special cultural events, concerts and entertainment programs are taking place throughout the city as well. Italian business tycoon and disc jockey Gianluca Vacchi – known more these days for his YouTube videos than for heading the motor caravan manufacturer Società Europea Autocaravan – is a featured guest and performer.
Exhibitions are also underway in the Heydar Aliyev Center, a gigantic cultural and conference center designed by the late, Iraq-born architect Zaha Hadid. Displays include classic cars and doll shows, and photo exhibitions such as famed nature photographer Theo Allofs’ “Untamed Africa” and “Treasures of Azerbaijan through the Wave of History,” which features all periods of Azerbaijan’s history and culture.
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism expects approximately 200,000 - 250,000 foreign visitors to pour in to the country throughout the month. The number of tourists visiting Azerbaijan during the first quarter of 2017 was about 544,000, representing a nearly 25 percent increase from the same period last year.
In 2016, the country hosted roughly 2.2 million tourists, an 11.7 percent increase from the previous year, with the majority from regional states like Russia, Georgia, Turkey and Iran, according to data provided by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
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