Deputy Economy Minister announces first visa-free travel to China for citizens

Georgian Deputy Economy Minister Mariam Kvrivishvili on Friday revealed first citizens of the country had benefited from the newly enacted visa-free travel to China after departing to the city of Ürümqi earlier this morning.

It is symbolic that, on the one hand, Georgian citizens will travel to China visa-free for the first time on today's flight, and on the other hand, from today, our partner airline, China Southern Airlines, will switch to daily operations”, said Kvrivishvili while attending the passenger registration process at Tbilisi International Airport.

She added the increase in flight frequencies would strengthen trade and economic relations between the two countries.

Kvrivishvili noted this decision was part of the recently signed strategic cooperation between Georgia and China, with both countries waiving visa requirements for each other's citizens.

Easing visa regulations is an important step towards strengthening trade and economic ties between the two countries, and more importantly, improving people-to-people relations. We are already witnessing the initial positive outcomes of these decisions. One such example is the increase in tourist arrivals from China and the expansion of air travel frequency will help diversify markets, particularly in the tourism and airline sectors," the official said.

Georgian citizens can now travel to China without a visa and stay for 30 consecutive days, starting from May 28, while Georgia announced visa-free travel for Chinese citizens in September 2023.