China's expanding visa-free agreements with members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) have unleashed a transnational tourism boom, spotlighting the bloc's growing success in fostering regional integration.

Within the SCO framework, which comprises 10 member states, two observer states, and 14 dialogue partners, China has signed mutual visa exemption agreements with the majority of these countries, covering various types of passports.

Notably, nine countries have implemented visa-free policies for holders of Chinese ordinary passports, greatly facilitating travel of Chinese tourists.

Yang Xiaoyu and Gu Siyu, two Chinese travel vloggers, are among those benefiting from the mutual visa exemption between China and Kazakhstan, which took effect in 2023.

"The entry process and handling of procedures are particularly smooth," said Yang.

"E-payments are very convenient here, as we can use Chinese apps, which are widely popular and accessible even for small vendors. The locals are also very friendly, often approaching us to ask if we need any assistance or have any problems," said Gu.

Data from multiple travel platforms indicate a significant surge in Chinese tourists traveling to SCO member countries this summer.
In addition, as the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays approach, interest in these destinations continues to rise.

"In terms of flight bookings for the upcoming National Day holiday, our data shows that SCO countries such as Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are enjoying growing popularity, as the bookings to these two countries increasing by 3.3 times and 2.3 times, respectively. Russia follows closely with an increase of 1.5 times," said a data analyst of a Chinese tourism products platform.

China is also becoming an increasingly appealing destination for tourists from SCO member states.
Dai Bin, head of the China Tourism Academy, anticipated that the SCO Summit in Tianjin, which runs from Sunday to Monday, will further boost tourism among member states.

"With the increase in tourists, both consumption levels and our consumption structure are continuously improving and optimizing. According to our monitoring, tourist satisfaction has demonstrated steady growth. China has become the world's largest source of outbound tourists and is also a significant destination for inbound tourism. With the upcoming SCO Summit, exchanges between China and SCO countries, especially in the tourism sector, are sure to reach a new peak," said Dai.