Chaoshan News / Industry Observation
2026 Chaoshan Tourism New Trend: 'Special Forces Check-in' Cools Down, 3-Day 2-Night 'Relaxed' Slow Travel Becomes Top Choice for Overseas Tourists
2026-06-16 Gochinanow Travel Trends Analyst
📊 Industry Data and Route Customization Tips
In response to the influx of "slow-paced, high-quality" travel demands this year, the Gochinanow team has fully upgraded its existing Chaoshan reception products. Our customized route services no longer focus on the number of attractions but emphasize a flexible rhythm of "waking up naturally." Whether visiting intangible cultural heritage workshops or seeking out old local flavors, we provide spacious business vehicles and guides familiar with the local dialect throughout the journey, ensuring that every overseas traveler truly achieves a sense of "relaxation."
#Chaoshan Tourism Trends#Overseas Chinese Returning to China Travel#Chaoshan 3-Day 2-Night Route#Chaoshan Chartered Car Guide
The core of modern tourism is shifting from 'seeing attractions' to 'living life.' Overseas tourists travel thousands of miles to Chaoshan, eager to experience not just the outlines of historical buildings, but also the calm and vibrant atmosphere hidden in Gongfu tea and old arcade alleys.
Based on inbound tourism data from the first half of 2026 and topic trends on overseas social media (such as TikTok and Instagram), the travel preferences of overseas tourists, mainly new and Malaysian Chinese, in the Chaoshan region have significantly shifted. The popularity of superficial "special forces check-in" is cooling down, replaced by "relaxed" slow travel that focuses on local cultural experiences, high-quality dining, and customized chartered cars. This article will take the currently highly regarded "Shantou-Chaozhou 3-day, 2-night in-depth tour route" as an example to deeply analyze the evolution of this high-net-worth travel demand.
Key highlights
- Demand Shift: Data insights show that overseas tourists' search volume for long-tail keywords such as "Chaoshan in-depth tour" and "avoid crowds" has surged significantly year-on-year.
- Route Upgrade: Analyze the logic of the current hottest 3-day, 2-night high-quality route, abandoning ineffective check-ins and focusing on core cultural experiences.
- Cultural Deep Dive: Shift from the main road of Small Park to the hidden Guoping Road, from Paifang Street to Jia Di Lane, pursuing a more authentic cultural texture.
- Localized Dining: Refuse to cater to tourists with "internet-famous assembly-line dining," returning to the original flavors of the market and hidden non-chain fresh beef hotpot.
- Travel Evolution: Based on the transportation connections of the three Chaoshan cities, "landing chartered car + exclusive butler" has become the standard for overseas family groups and high-net-worth tourists.
In 2026, as the normalized dividends of the visa-free policies between China and Malaysia, and China and Singapore continue to be released, the Chaoshan region in eastern Guangdong Province has ushered in a new wave of inbound overseas tourists. However, as a local tourism service platform, Gochinanow's data insights team has found that tourists' consumption behaviors and travel demands are undergoing a profound transformation.
The "special forces" style of travel, which involved visiting ten attractions in one day and was popular among young domestic groups in the past few years, has clearly become unsuitable for inbound overseas tourists (especially Southeast Asian family groups). Chaoshan, a region where the air is filled with the aroma of braised sauce and tea, has "slowness" and "leisure" at its core. Nowadays, the "relaxed slow travel" that aligns with this local DNA is becoming the absolute mainstream of the Chaoshan tourism market in 2026.
The highest-rated "Shantou + Chaozhou 3-day, 2-night high-quality slow travel route" in the industry is the best epitome of this trend.
Trend 1: Farewell to superficial sightseeing, delve into the city's texture (Day 1: Shantou's retro and local life)
In the itinerary for Shantou, tourists are abandoning the standardized check-in model.
In the past, tour groups would only take a group photo in front of the department store building at Shantou Small Park and then leave in a hurry. But the current trend of slow travel is to guide tourists to explore the surrounding old arcade alleys, such as the latter part of Guoping Road, which have not yet been fully commercialized and renovated. The mottled walls and scattered banyan roots provide photography spots with a strong Wong Kar-wai film aesthetic.
In the evening, taking the square ferry, which costs only one yuan per trip, to Queshi and watching the sunset over the inner bay from the deck has become a must-do option with great value and romance. As for dinner, high-end tourists no longer believe in internet-famous restaurants with hours-long queues; instead, they ask guides to lead them into residential areas to find fresh beef hotpot where the beef is slaughtered and cut on the spot, hanging at the store entrance, pursuing the purest taste shock of "Diaolong" and "Wuhuazhi."
Trend 2: Transportation pain points trigger the explosion of "chartered car + butler" services (Day 2: Chaozhou's culture and tea ceremony)
The Chaoshan region includes three cities: Shantou, Chaozhou, and Jieyang. Although the distances are not far, cross-city public transportation is not friendly to overseas tourists, especially family groups.
Industry data shows that on the journey from Shantou to Chaozhou (Day 2), the demand for chartered car customized services has grown exponentially. Tourists who choose Gochinanow's chartered car service generally report that point-to-point business car transfers not only save them the hassle of carrying luggage but also that the guides familiar with the local dialect serve as their "cultural translators" in a foreign land.
After arriving at the ancient city of Chaozhou, the logic of slow travel is also reflected in route selection. Tourists are no longer limited to the noisy main street of Paifang Street; instead, they prefer to explore areas like Jia Di Lane and Yi Jing Lane, where Ming and Qing dynasty ancient houses are concentrated. In hidden old house tea houses, listening to Chaozhou opera and learning how to brew a cup of authentic Fenghuang Dancong tea (such as Yashi Xiang), this immersive intangible cultural heritage experience greatly enhances the added value of the trip. As night falls, after enjoying the river view of Xiangzi Bridge, tasting authentic raw marinated seafood and stir-fried thin clams at the foot of the city wall is the standard answer for Chaozhou nightlife.
Trend 3: Precise procurement of local souvenirs (Day 3: Full of taste memories)
On the last day of the trip, tourists' shopping preferences have also become more rational and localized. Instead of buying souvenirs from industrial assembly lines, they prefer to go into traditional markets in the old city. Watching masters hand-pound beef balls and vacuum-pack them on the spot, or personally selecting a few cans of top-grade Dancong tea and time-honored mung bean cakes. This is not just shopping; it's packing the vibrant atmosphere of Chaoshan to take back to Southeast Asia.
Industry Summary: The Chaoshan tourism market in 2026 is rewarding those practitioners who truly understand service and culture. The explosion of the "relaxed" route essentially reflects the return of overseas tourists' demands for travel quality to rationality. For new and Malaysian Chinese planning to return to their roots for leisure and vacation, choosing professional local guides and customized chartered cars will be the best solution to start this beautiful journey back to their homeland.