The 31st Guangzhou International Travel Fair (GITF) will kick off on May 19, the China Tourism Day, at the Area C of China Import and Export Fair Complex in Guangzhou. With participants from 55 countries and regions, the three-day event will provide the public with the latest international tourist information and showcase culture and tourist products of China and abroad, centring intangible cultural heritage, B&B, tea, and the like.
The event will encompass several halls featuring digital tourism, outbound tourism & MICE, inbound tourism & travel destination, local travel agency, theme tourism & scenic spot, respectively.
As Sri Lanka will be the guest country of honour at this year's GIFT, around 20 travel agencies from the country will attend the event and introduce their tourism resources to the visitors.
Meanwhile, many overseas exhibitors from Cuba, Poland, Germany, Spain, the UK, the US, Canada, Peru, and so on will participate in the fair, among which Saudi Arabia is the new participating country this year. Visitors can enjoy the colourful charms of the global tourist destinations in Guangzhou without having to travel.
Highlights of the 31st GITF
The GITF this year has established an array of themed exhibition zones featuring B&B experience spaces, a joint exhibition of Guangzhou's museums, intangible cultural heritage, creative cultural and tourism experience in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), tea culture, sports tourism carnival, and digital tourism.
The design of the Four Seasons Sports Centre
The exhibition zone of creative experience in the GBA, titled "WOW moment", is a new highlight of the GITF in 2023. More than ten creative experience spaces, a 6-meter-long scrapbook co-created by visitors, over 1,000 blind boxes, parties and more will be available to provide a fascinating experience.
The Guangzhou tea party exhibition zone will also make its debut at the fair, featuring a Lingnan tea ceremony area, and a tea tasting area. Visitors can learn about the history of tea culture in Guangzhou from the Tang and Song dynasties to the Ming and Qing dynasties, as well as taste hundreds of special teas from around the world.
At the same time, the joint exhibition held by museums in the city, such as the Guangzhou Museum, Nanyue King Museum, and Guangzhou Museum of Art, will demonstrate Guangzhou's history through a timeline. Visitors can get a comprehensive understanding of Guangzhou's culture.
At the intangible cultural heritage exhibition zones, visitors can communicate with the inheritors and get hands-on experiences of Cantonese glazed porcelain, Cantonese embroidery, paper cutting, seal cutting, flower arrangement, and Huadu trip hammered incense powder.
In addition, the latest digital applications in the cultural and tourism industry will be presented at the digital tourism exhibition area, offering visitors an immersive experience of the integration between technology and tourism.
Last but not least, the GITF will hold a series of forums, inviting experts from all over the world to discuss the issues on China's outbound tourism, digital applications in the cultural and tourism industry, museums and creative cultural products, global inbound tourism destinations, etc.
