Xue Yaping (R, rear), director of the marketing and international cooperation department under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, speaks at a press conference on tourism cooperation among member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) ahead of the 18th SCO summit in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, June 8, 2018. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong)

QINGDAO, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Huge potential exists for the tourism cooperation among member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a Chinese official said Friday.

SCO member countries are close neighbors with highly complementary tourism resources, Xue Yaping, director of the marketing and international cooperation department under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, told a press conference ahead of the 18th SCO summit scheduled for Saturday and Sunday in Qingdao.

"At present, tourism cooperation has become an important part of economic cooperation among SCO member states, and will be conducive to consolidating and developing good neighborliness among them," Xue said.

In 2017, tourists from the other SCO members made 3.62 million trips to China, up 11.75 percent year on year.

At the upcoming summit, an action plan for implementing the SCO tourism cooperation guideline in 2019-2020 is expected to be signed as guidance for deepening pragmatic tourism cooperation in the coming years, Xue said.