The walled city that priced the corridor: tourism at a record 5.3% of the economy, the airport at 85% of capacity with a 20-million plan, the Tbilisi sleeper back after six years — and a hotel market that learned its rate lesson at COP29. Eight studies, one hub.
Baku enters the TIO metropolis series as the Caspian capital where the state has declared tourism a strategic pillar: the sector reached a record 5.3% of the economy in 2025, visitors spent ₼9 billion (+39% over the pre-pandemic level), and per-capita inbound spending is up 74% on 2019 — even as arrivals, at 2.57 million, still trail the plan.
The gateways keep compounding: Heydar Aliyev airport closed 2025 at 7.64 million passengers (85% of its nine-million capacity) with transit up 30%, the president has ordered a concept for 15–20 million, and on May 26, 2026 the Baku–Tbilisi night train returned after six years — the corridor city relinked to its Caucasus twin.
The hotel market is the sober counterweight: Baku runs about 40% occupancy on a base of 15,600 rooms — half the country’s stock — with rates that spiked to ₼2,256 on the first night of COP29 and then normalized. Nobu is coming to Sea Breeze, Mövenpick made its South Caucasus debut in the Winter Park — and the State Programme to 2030 now subsidizes hotel loans to fill the middle.
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