Chinese interest in Uruguay surges after visa announcement

Flight searches from China to Uruguay surged after Uruguay announced it would grant visa-free entry to Chinese passport holders, adding to growing interest among Chinese tourists in multi-country South American travel routes.

Uruguayan Foreign Minister Mario Lubetkin announced on Thursday that Uruguay would implement a visa-free policy for Chinese citizens holding ordinary passports, according to Xinhua News Agency.

While Lubetkin said details of the policy would be released later, he added that China is an important source of tourists for Uruguay and that he hoped more Chinese visitors would travel to the South American country after the policy takes effect.

Chinese authorities have said there has been sustained growth in travel from South America to China over the year since it implemented a visa-free policy for citizens of Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Uruguay.

In a reciprocal move last month, Brazil announced visa-free entry for Chinese citizens holding ordinary passports, with travelers allowed to stay in Brazil for up to 30 days without a visa.

Chinese online travel platform Qunar said flight searches to Uruguay had risen sharply by 10 am on Friday.

Searches for flights to Montevideo, Uruguay's capital, jumped nearly 20-fold from the previous hour and surged by dozens of times compared with the previous week, according to Qunar data.

Montevideo had already been the most popular destination in Uruguay among Chinese travelers so far this year, the company said.

Analysts at Qunar said Uruguay could benefit from combined travel itineraries with Brazil, which recently introduced a visa-free policy for Chinese citizens.

The ability to visit multiple South American countries on a single trip could help travelers spread the cost of long-haul international flights and boost the appeal of South America as a destination during the upcoming summer holiday and National Day travel seasons, the analysts said.