Travel agencies are seeing a notable rise in inquiries and bookings for trips to South America by tourists from mainland China after Brazil’s visa-free entry policy for visitors from the mainland took effect on Monday – and they also remain upbeat about the market’s growth potential.

Coupled with the buzz of the 2026 Fifa World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico, outbound travel from Chinese visitors to the Americas is expected to experience a surge as the summer travel peak approaches, said Suzhou, Jiangsu province-based online travel agency Tongcheng Travel.

As of noon on Tuesday, the search volume for Brazil-related keywords had jumped more than 15 times in the six days since the announcement of the visa exemption versus the previous six-day period, Tongcheng Travel found. The three most searched destinations were Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia.

Brazil announced on May 7 that Chinese visitors are eligible for short-term visa-free entry with a maximum stay of 30 days per entry. Searches for flights to Brazil saw an immediate upsurge on several travel platforms following the news.

Spring Tour, a Shanghai-based travel agency, said Brazil offers diverse tourist attractions and also enjoys a high recognition factor among Chinese travellers. The agency said Brazil’s visa exemption for Chinese visitors will provide a strong boost to long-haul travel to South America, and has brought forward the start of this summer’s booking season.

“So far, five-country South American combo tours covering Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Chile and Uruguay remain a top pick among travellers. Most bookings come from families and senior groups, with inquiries and reservations exceeding last year’s levels,” said Zhou Weihong, deputy general manager of Spring Tour.

“We will speed up the development of in-depth Brazil-only tours based on market feedback to better cater to travellers’ personalised demand,” Zhou added.