Next year, a new direct air connection with China will be launched via “China Eastern Airlines”.
“Elchi” reports that Florian Sengstschmid, Chief Executive Officer of the Azerbaijan Tourism Board, stated this during a panel discussion held within the framework of the presentation of the World Bank’s “Azerbaijan Country Economic Update – Spring 2026” report.
According to him, Azerbaijan continues its efforts to expand access to new tourism markets. To this end, a representative office was opened in Beijing two months ago. Starting from May next year, a new direct air connection with China will be launched via “China Eastern Airlines”. Negotiations are currently underway with other Chinese airlines as well.
Florian Sengstschmid stated that until 2018, India was practically absent from the list of markets sending tourists to Azerbaijan. However, last year, the number of tourists arriving in Azerbaijan from this country reached 256,000-260,000.
He noted that geopolitical tension remains one of the main risk factors for the tourism sector, as political instability directly affects the movement of people between countries.
The CEO emphasized that he believes the tourism sector of Azerbaijan will develop more rapidly in the coming years through the implementation of measures in the priority areas identified in the World Bank report and with the support of international partners.