Azerbaijan will become more accessible for Chinese citizens

On November 6, a meeting was held in Shanghai between Fuad Naghiyev, Chairman of the State Tourism Agency, and Wang Zhiqing, Chairman of "China Eastern Airlines".

The meeting was attended by Teymur Hasanov, Director of the Heydar Aliyev International Airport, Florian Sengstschmid, Chief Executive Officer of the Azerbaijan Tourism Board, and Rashad Aliyev, Deputy Chief Executive Officer.

During the meeting, the parties discussed the prospects of "China Eastern Airlines" launching flights to Azerbaijan, expanding air communication between the two countries, and increasing mutual tourist inflows.

Fuad Naghiyev emphasized that the comprehensive strategic partnership and high-level relations between Azerbaijan and China create a favorable foundation for the development of tourism cooperation. Noting that China is one of Azerbaijan's priority tourism markets, the Agency Chairman provided information on promotional activities carried out in the country, cooperation with leading travel platforms, and the Azerbaijan Tourism Board office opened in Beijing.

Fuad Naghiyev stated that the State Tourism Agency is ready to support the airline in launching flights to Azerbaijan. In this context, subsidy mechanisms, airport concessions, and joint marketing opportunities envisaged in the state program for tourism development were discussed.

Wang Zhiqing, Chairman of "China Eastern Airlines", stated that the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Azerbaijan creates a solid foundation for bilateral cooperation in civil aviation and tourism, and the abolition of mutual visa requirements provides a long-term impetus to the expansion of the aviation market.

Emphasizing that direct flights between Shanghai and Baku possess great market potential and development prospects, Wang Zhiqing noted their interest in jointly developing tourism ties and increasing air passenger traffic between the two countries, highly appreciating the efforts of the State Tourism Agency in this direction.

It should be noted that large-scale promotional events are being implemented to raise awareness of Azerbaijan's tourism potential in China. Participation in international tourism exhibitions and events in China, a series of presentation events in major Chinese cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Chengdu, cooperation meetings with tourism industry representatives, familiarization trips for media and bloggers, and marketing activities on online platforms continue year-round.

As part of these activities, throughout 2026, the promotion of Azerbaijan's tourism potential began on People's Republic of China social media platforms, including Weibo, WeChat, Douyin, RedNote, SKYE, and Bilibili, while advertising campaigns promoting Azerbaijan's tourism opportunities are regularly placed on China's leading travel platforms, CTRIP.com and FLIGGY.

Since May 29, 2026, the official representative office of the Azerbaijan Tourism Board has been operating in Beijing. In accordance with the "Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the People's Republic of China on Mutual Visa Exemption for Holders of General Passports," signed on April 23, 2025, Chinese citizens travel to Azerbaijan visa-free.

Currently, direct flights between Azerbaijan and China are operated 3 times a week on the Baku-Beijing route by Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), and 5 times a week on the Baku-Urumqi route by China Southern Airlines.

In 2025, the number of foreign citizens arriving in Azerbaijan from China increased by 41.7% compared to 2024, reaching 63,500 people, and in January-October 2026, it increased by 7% compared to the corresponding period of last year, reaching 61,001 people.