Baku Shopping Festival welcomes you in the Land of Fire!
Azerbaijan's rich history, cultural and natural heritage attract tourists from all over the world. This is the Land of Fire and the Pearl of the Caucasus, where eastern flavor combines magnificently with western progress. Azerbaijan`s plethora of attractions could keep you busy for days. Even if you come for very short visit, Baku has a whole series of inspirational places to snap the perfect photograph. Medieval alleyways and caravanserais beckon. Alluring cafes, exotic tea caverns, suave restaurants, great jazz clubs, carpet peddlers, fine museums, cutting edge galleries and sweet little curio shops are all a short stroll away. Or a series of intriguing excursions to mud volcanoes, petroglyphs, castles, archaeology sites and a still-burning fire temple. Or head off into rural Azerbaijan and discover just how beautiful the countryside can be – deserts and mountains, canyons and beaches, forests and ski resorts – any accessible in four hours distance.
Historically, a part of the Great Silk Road and location on the crossroads of the geopolitical, economic and cultural interests of different nations and civilizations, Azerbaijan has, since ancient times, aroused the interests of great minds, traders, poets, craftsmen, travellers and historians. In the continuation of ancient traditions and reacting on new challenges, the government of Azerbaijan has made its determination to convert the country into a major events venue as a part of the Azerbaijan Vision 2020 development strategy concept, which aims at doubling the national GDP by the end of the decade and on growing visitor numbers. Given the enthusiasm to attain these ambitious goals, the main goal is focused on increasing economic growth dynamics and supporting current economic potential by new economic reforms and improving the non-oil sector. Part of this plan and in accordance with the decree signed by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on 1 September 2016, is organization of the shopping festivals in Baku semiannually. The Baku Shopping Festival is organized to bring attractive and feasible shopping offers to the local and foreigner “fashonistas” , as in the spring and autumn, the city’s numerous stores offer up to 70% of discounts to all shoppers. But even more than that, the Festival provides a fantastic opportunity to visit one of the oldest and most beautiful cities in the world, meet oriental traditions and customs, explore historical and cultural heritage and architecture, which will charm you by the spirit of antiquity of Baku coupled with ultra-modern comfort. The Festival organizes numerous entertainment events, indulges the guests in the taste of local gourmet cuisine, and provides great deals and surprises, and tax free shopping opportunities. During the Festival, the best hotels, restaurants, shopping centers and entertainment zones are at disposal of the guests of the Baku City. Interesting art galleries, museums and other cultural centers of Baku make visitors leave Azerbaijan with suitcases full not only with purchases but also with wonderful impressions.
Azerbaijan Convention Bureau, operating under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Azerbaijan, a national umbrella organization aiming to promote Azerbaijan as a world-class business, shopping and leisure destination, is the official operator of the Baku Shopping Festival. During the Festival, the Bureau brings together and organizes for discounts, special campaigns and possibility to receive a city-cash Tax Free from more than 800 brands in retail, electronics, home appliances, furniture, perfumes, cosmetics and other goods from the worldwide leading brands. The Shopping Festival also organizes lotteries, entertainment and gift programs.
The first Shopping Festival held in Baku on April 10-May 10/ 2017 was a great success exceeding expectations and has become a subject of great interest at the global tourism market. During the festival, more than 350 stores made special discounts and majority of them allowed fort the advantageous Tax Free shopping as the tax free eligibility ceiling for foreigners was decreased from the standard 300 AZN (approx. 176 USD) to 100 AZN (approx. 59USD) combined with a possibility to get back the tax-free refund also in the city, not only at the airport, as usual. In addition, for the first time in the global tax free operations practice, during the days of the shopping festival in Baku, the tax free refund system applied not only to foreign but also to the local citizens as well. The second Baku Shopping Festival on October 15- November 15 /2017, continued this tradition, and reached even more success having joined together more than 500 merchants even including supermarkets into the festival network of beneficial shopping offers. A special “Festival Surprises” instant lottery and signature entertainment events made the second festival shopping experience even more enjoyable and memorable. Only in October 2017, about 205 thousand tourists came to Azerbaijan, which is a 13% increase from the same period of previous year, and up to 48,500 transactions have been processed within the Tax Free system, and the registered total turnover made almost 34 million AZN (approx. 20 million USD).
During the third Baku Shopping Festival on 1-31 May, 2018, the Bureau will once again bring together and organize for discounts, special campaigns and possibility to receive a city-cash Tax Free from more than 800 brands in retail, electronics, home appliances, furniture, perfumes, cosmetics and other goods from the worldwide leading brands. The Shopping Festival is going to offer a unique special software-based lottery program with more than 20,000 prizes.
