Azerbaijan's tourism potential is presented in Shanghai

Azerbaijan's tourism potential has been presented in Shanghai, one of the largest cities in China, with reference to local media outlets, Azernews reports.

Speaking at the event attended by representatives of Chinese tourism companies, Chairman of the State Tourism Agency Fuad Nagiyev said Azerbaijan, with its cultural heritage, colourful nature, and ancient and modern architecture, has played the role of a trade and cultural bridge on the Silk Road for centuries, as well as the historical heritage of Azerbaijan in the modern era.

The chairman said the tourism industry in Azerbaijan has undergone great development in recent years. Significant work has been done to improve tourism services, as a result of which Azerbaijan has become a popular tourist destination for travellers from different regions of the world.

Noting that China is one of the main tourist markets for Azerbaijan, Fuad Nagiyev said the number of tourist trips between the two countries has increased after the pandemic subsided. He said the agency has developed a new concept to attract more Chinese tourists to our country, and attractive and suitable conditions for Chinese tourists will be provided within this programme.

Deputy Chief Executive Director of Azerbaijan Tourism Bureau Javanshir Bayramov informed about the tourism potential of our country and existing conditions and created infrastructure for different kinds of tourism, including natural, historical-cultural, sea, and health tourism.

Representatives of Azerbaijan Airlines CJSC (AZAL), Ruslan Abdullayev and Rinat Azizov informed the national air carrier of our country that direct regular flights of Baku-Beijing-Baku, which will open in December, will have a positive impact on increasing the number of tourist trips between the two countries. In the coming years, they plan to open direct flights to several more cities in China.

Then a video showing Azerbaijan's tourism potential, the beauty of nature, historical and cultural heritage, and delicious cuisine was shown, and the winner of the lottery organised by AZAL was awarded a Beijing-Baku-Beijing ticket.

Similar presentations are planned to be held in Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Beijing, China.

It should be noted that in order to attract more tourists from China, which is the world's largest tourism market, to Azerbaijan, an official representative office of the Azerbaijan Tourism Bureau has been operating in China since December 2018, facilitating group travel, memoranda of understanding on cooperation between the Azerbaijan Tourism Bureau and well-known Chinese online travel platforms "Ctrip.com International Ltd" and "Qyer" were signed in the same year.

In addition, the introduction of a simplified visa regime for Chinese citizens in February 2016, as well as the operation of the "ASAN Visa" system expanded the opportunities for Chinese tourists to visit Azerbaijan.