Guangdong sets its sights on becoming China's inbound tourism hub

Guangdong Province is positioning inbound tourism as a key driver of growth in cultural and tourism consumption, with the aim of becoming the first stop for global visitors looking to experience life in China.

As one of the country's leading tourism destinations and major source markets, Guangdong has consistently topped China's inbound tourism rankings since 2023. In the first half of 2025 alone, the province received over 39.3 million inbound visitors. According to Chinese travel giant Ctrip, from January to September 2025, Guangdong recorded the highest number of inbound arrivals nationwide with particularly strong growth from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, France, and Russia.

Guangdong offers a vibrant mix of culture, history, and nature, from traditional cultural heritage such as paper cutting, lion dancing, and Yingge dance, to natural landscapes like Danxia Mountain and Luofu Mountain, to historic sites like the Foshan Ancestral Temple, Kaiping Diaolou and Villages, and the ancient city of Chaozhou.

On October 22, Guangdong's department of culture and tourism launched the global Discover Guangdong campaign. The event brought together 300 international travel agents and influencers from more than 60 countries and regions, including the United States, Italy, Spain, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore, for a journey to explore Guangdong's cultural and tourism offerings.

During the campaign launch ceremony, the province released the Guangdong Inbound Travel Guide to offer visitors unique travel experiences. To further enhance its appeal, Guangdong is introducing a range of innovative policies related to visa and customs facilitation, travel product development, improving the service ecosystem, and global marketing. These efforts are aimed at building a diversified inbound tourism system that caters to the needs of travelers from around the world, solidifying Guangdong's position as a dynamic international tourism hub in southern China.