Just a few days back, Uzbekistan’s Centrum Air took to the skies with direct flights on the Baku-Tashkent route, making waves in the travel scene. The launch of these flights could open up a world of opportunities for Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, touching on various sectors like tourism, economy, culture, and regional cooperation, paving the way for a brighter future.

The introduction of new routes to the transport infrastructure will surely shake things up in the tourism sector as well. Direct flights make travel more accessible and convenient, which increases mutual tourist flows between the two countries. More tourists mean more hotel stays, restaurant visits, and use of local services. Furthermore, the new flights provide great opportunities for joint tour organization, especially for these two countries located on the historic Silk Road.

When it comes to bolstering economic connections, the Baku-Tashkent flights are set to take the bull by the horns and make a significant impact. These new flights could directly ease travel for entrepreneurs and investors, resulting in the development of trade relations. Direct connections also create a foundation for new agreements and collaborations.

Commenting on the issue, the State Tourism Agency told Trend that Uzbekistan ranks among Azerbaijan’s target tourism markets in the Central Asia region.

It was noted that the number of tourists arriving from Uzbekistan to Azerbaijan has grown in recent years.

"In 2024, the number of citizens traveling from Uzbekistan to our country increased by 17 percent compared to 2023, reaching 46,396 people.

Uzbek tourists, who previously favored health tourism, are now showing growing interest not only in health tourism but also in tours to Baku and surrounding regions, as well as in diverse tourism products.

To promote Azerbaijan's tourism potential in Uzbekistan, various marketing and promotional activities have been carried out by the Azerbaijan Tourism Bureau, which operates under the State Tourism Agency. For example, Azerbaijan's tourism potential was introduced at the Tashkent International Tourism Fair (TITF 2022) held in Uzbekistan in 2022, 2023, and 2024. In addition to exhibitions, a series of events, seminars, and B2B meetings involving tourism industry representatives were organized in various cities of Uzbekistan.

Various events are being carried out to strengthen the existing tourism relations between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, as well as to explore cooperation opportunities within international organizations such as the UN World Tourism Organization, the Turkic States Organization, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Economic Cooperation Organization. On August 23, 2024, within the framework of the official visit of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to Uzbekistan, the "Action Plan for Tourism Cooperation between the State Tourism Agency of Azerbaijan and the Tourism Committee of the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection, and Climate Change of Uzbekistan for 2024-2026" was signed.

Besides, on April 5, 2025, a Memorandum of Understanding on tourism cooperation was signed between the Azerbaijan Tourism Bureau and the Uzbekistan National Propaganda Center. The agreement focuses on increasing tourist flows under the "Silk Road tours" initiative, strengthening positions in Central Europe and other international markets, as well as developing joint tourism products, organizing promotional events, and B2B meetings.

To expand cooperation in winter tourism, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed on September 23, 2024, between Azerbaijan’s Shahdag, Kazakhstan’s Chimbulak, Türkiye’s Uludağ, and Uzbekistan’s Amirsoy mountain resorts, establishing the Turkish Ski Resorts Union.

In April 2025, direct flights will be launched from Azerbaijan to Tashkent, with AZAL airlines operating five times a week, and to Samarkand, with Uzbekistan Airways operating four times a week," the agency said.

The Azerbaijani State Border Service data shows that from January through March 2025, 508,100 foreigners, including 1.8 percent of Uzbek citizens, and stateless persons visited Azerbaijan from 167 countries, marking a 1.1 percent decrease compared to the same period last year. In the reporting period, 69.9 percent of foreign visitors to Azerbaijan used air transport, 28.4 percent traveled by rail and road, and 1.7 percent used sea transport.

Meanwhile, the number of Azerbaijani citizens traveling abroad decreased by 0.7 percent in the first three months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, reaching 468,900. Among them, 0.7 percent traveled to Uzbekistan.

The majority of Azerbaijani citizens traveling abroad (68.2 percent) used air transport, 29.7percent traveled by rail and road, and 2.1 percent used sea transport.

CEO at Azerbaijan's Smart Hotel Management and Consulting Jeyhun Ashurov said that Uzbekistan is an actively developing Central Asian country attracting investors and achieving success in various sectors of its economy.

According to him, recent years have seen an increase in the intensity of relations between Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan.