Ilham Aliyev: ‘If only 1% of 150 million Chinese tourists come to Azerbaijan, it will be enough for us’

If only 1% of the 150 million Chinese citizens who travel abroad each year come to Azerbaijan, this will be sufficient for the country, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said in an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) in Beijing, Report informs.

The head of state recalled that Azerbaijan unilaterally abolished the visa regime for Chinese citizens for the first time last year and expressed gratitude to the other side for taking the same step this year.

“Yes, this is true. Yes, exactly. Usually we did it on bilateral grounds. But in this case, we did it unilaterally to demonstrate our friendship and openness.

We also talked today with my colleagues about increasing the number of flights. Today we have, I think, six or seven flights per week. And having in mind that we almost received twice as many visitors from China last year after the visa regime was abolished, we hope that the number will grow.

Today, I learned that 150 million Chinese people travel abroad. In one of my meetings I said, if only 1% comes to Azerbaijan, that will be enough for us. Of course, we want to develop our tourism sector. We have geographical advantages – the Caspian Sea, ski resorts, forests and rivers, and even a semi-desert areas. Everyone can find a place to enjoy, plus very good cuisine and hospitable people. We just need to present ourselves, to make a country presentation, and to eliminate visa regimes with friendly countries. It's a historical day today, and very good news for Azerbaijani citizens, so they can just buy a ticket and come to China.

We want more Azerbaijanis to visit China — to travel, to study, and to work. Today, we also discussed our cooperation in the field of education. We have more than 100 students from both countries studying in our countries,” President Ilham Aliyev stated.