On June 7, 2018 the Deputy Mayor of Odessa, Pavel Vugelman held a working meeting with representatives of the tourism business of the People's Republic of China. During the meeting, the sides have discussed the issues of further cooperation, in particular, the prospects of opening a direct flight from China to Odessa.

As Pavel Vugelman noted, Chinese tourists can get visas directly at Odessa airport since 2016. The presentation of Odessa at international tourism exhibitions in Beijing and Shanghai responds to the strategic task of the city of the year-round visit with different types of tourism: cultural, business, gastronomic, medical and educational.

"It should be noted increasing the number of tourist flow to Odessa from Europe, Asia and, of course, China. We understand that Chinese tourist is a very serious guest in the world market. We are open for meetings and are primed for creation conditions for the reception of tour operators and tourists at the highest level, "the vice-mayor commented on the results of the meeting.