International events held in Baku, such as the 1st European Olympic Games 2015,  the 4th Islamic Solidarity Games, and the Formula 1 Grand Prix 2016-2021, are raising the international profile of Azerbaijan as a tourist destination. The Government policy of hosting international business conferences and events, targeted on key sectors continues this trend. As a result, TripAdvisor announced Baku among top 10 world destinations on the rise in 2016, taking the top spot for Asia. The Government of Azerbaijan has initiated some key improvements to the visa application process. As a result, tourists from most of the countries of the world can apply for a pre-entry visa through the special online ASAN e-visa system. Generally, visas are issued as fast as within 3 working days. 

The World Economic Forum named Azerbaijan the most-improved country in the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index 2017. To serve the demand created by international sports, business and political events, the tourism and hospitality infrastructure is developing quickly. A number of top-class international hotel chains such as Four Seasons, Marriott, Pullman, Hilton, Excelsior, Rixos, Fairmont and others operate in Azerbaijan. In 2012, Shahdagh Winter-Summer Tourism Complex in Gusar was put into operation. The complex includes two hotels (“Shahdagh” and “Peak Palace”), trade centers, a restaurant, café, game hall, equestrian sports, skiing and other services. Continuously increasing volume of international visitors stimulates direct investment into the development of tourism industry and related services. But, the rapid spread of coronavirus infection in the world has also had a negative impact on the tourism sector in Azerbaijan. In 2020, compared to 2019, there was a decrease in the indicators of public catering establishments, which are one of the key elements of the tourism infrastructure. Hence, in December 2020, the turnover of public catering decreased by 3.2 times compared to December 2019.