In this research paper I have discussed one of the most popular and sustainable type of tourism – ecotourism, more precisely ecotourism inside Shahdag National Park (SNP) of Azerbaijan. Born and started to gain a significant importance during 1960s as a result of the growing environmental concern coupled with negative causes and growing dissatisfaction with mass tourism, ecotourism had become a major tool for achieving conservation and sustainable development goals by a number of developing countries by the mid. 1980s. Today it is a major source of income for a number of developing countries across the world with being less destructive in the usage of natural resources than alternative economic sectors such as agriculture and logging. This study is concentrated on investigating and deep researching ecotourism within context of national parks, more precisely within Shahdag national park of Azerbaijan. Main research questions are: What are the existing challenges in ecotourism system of SNP?; What are the further development opportunities in ecotourism of SNP?; What are Azerbaijani people’s viewpoint of ecotourism? First, secondary research was conducted for covering the questions, issues and aspects of the research. Besides reviewing traditional literature it is including credible websites, reports, and case studies. The methodology of this research aims to find the existing gaps and disadvantages or challenges in the ecotourism system of SNP, identifies opinions and level of education of people of Azerbaijan about ecotourism and sustainability in general. To identify these, data was collected, and both quantitative and qualitative methods implemented. Primary research included questionnaire survey and interview. These together revealed to the research questions and proved the answer for hypotheses which are described in research findings and conclusion sections of the paper. As the main result we can conclude that Shahdag national park of Azerbaijan has immense ecotourism potential but this potential is not utilized to its fullest capacity. In conclusion, main challenges and hardships in the develeopment of successfull ecotourism system of SNP have been identfied. Nevertheless, we have a clear insite into the viewpoint of Azerbaijani people to ecotourism in general. Subsequent recommendations and development plan for the future are showcased.
