A new direct air route between Azerbaijan and China operated by China Eastern Airlines will be launched next year, Florian Sengstschmid, Chief Executive Officer of the Azerbaijan Tourism Board, said during a panel discussion held as part of the presentation of the World Bank's "Azerbaijan Country Economic Memorandum – Spring 2026" report.

Axar.az infroms, citing APА, according to him, Azerbaijan continues its efforts to expand access to new tourism markets. For this purpose, 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 through China Eastern Airlines. Negotiations are also currently underway with other Chinese airlines.

Florian Sengstschmid stated that until 2018, India was virtually absent from the list of countries sending tourists to Azerbaijan. However, last year, the number of tourists arriving in Azerbaijan from India reached 256,000–260,000.

He noted that geopolitical tensions remain one of the main risk factors for the tourism sector, as political instability directly affects people's movement between countries.

The chief executive officer stressed that he believes Azerbaijan's tourism sector will develop more rapidly in the coming years through the implementation of the priority measures identified in the World Bank's report and with the support of international partners.