BAKU, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- Foreign tourists spent approximately 1.55 billion manats (about 914 million U.S. dollars) in Azerbaijan in January-July, down 18.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the latest update of the State Statistics Committee.
A total of 1.34 million foreigners and stateless persons from 191 countries visited Azerbaijan in the first seven months, down 9.2 percent from a year earlier.
Transport accounted for the largest share of spending at 699.1 million manats, followed by food at 289.7 million and accommodation at 285.5 million manats. Spending in all three categories declined year on year.
Spending on goods and gifts rose 2.8 percent to 192.9 million manats, while spending on sports and entertainment increased 13.1 percent to 13.2 million manats.
Tourists from Russia spent the most, at 492 million manats, although their spending fell 7.9 percent. Spending by tourists from Türkiye declined 10.4 percent to 177.4 million manats, while visitors from Kazakhstan spent 2.1 percent more, at 85 million manats. (1 Azerbaijani manat = 0.59 U.S. dollars) ■
