The achievements of the women engaged in sports are given a special importance in Azerbaijan. Along with traditional feminine sports Azerbaijani women are engaged in such kinds as sumo wrestling and shooting. Zemfira Meftaheddinova has remarkable achievements in shooting. She took the first place in team competitions in the European championship in 1990. In 1996 she broke the record and took the first place in the European championship.
Chess is very popular in Azerbaijan.
After the world champion Harry Kasparov, who was a native of Baku, great achievements were reached by Aynur Sofiyeva, Firuza Velikhanli and Ilaha Gadimova. The Contract of the Century signed between Azerbaijan and the Consortium of the leading oil companies of the USA, England, Saudi Arabia, Norway, Russia, Japan, Turkey and Italy considerably increased interest towards Azerbaijan. In 1994 the number of Azerbaijani tourists sent abroad was 35786. In 1996 the number of tourists visiting foreign states was 74045. For the first quarter of 1997 this number was 31470.