Holiday Island Golf Club in Guangzhou / Courtesy of Lee Hee-hyun
HONG KONG — A surge in Korean visitors wanting to play golf in Guangzhou, fueled by China’s visa-free travel policy and the city’s warm climate, is keeping Quan Yulan busier than ever at the travel agency where she has worked for 12 years.
Compared with 2023, when international travel began recovering after the COVID-19 pandemic, Korean bookings surged by more than 300 percent last year, said Quan, who is of Korean descent, adding that the Guangzhou-based agency expected even stronger growth this year.
“Even though Guangzhou is one of China’s three major cities, Korean golfers used to be relatively rare here,” she said. “But now I’m happily busy every day.”
While roughly 90 percent of golfers in Guangzhou are Chinese, Korean visitors make up the overwhelming majority of foreign players, according to travel industry officials. Most of the golf-focused travel agencies in the city, including the one where Quan works, are run by or employ Chinese people of Korean descent to cater primarily to the Korean market.
For years, Korean golf tourists favored countries such as Japan, Thailand and Vietnam, said Lee Hee-hyun, CEO of Blooming Golf Tour, a travel agency based in Seoul. But that began to shift in 2024 when China introduced a 30-day visa-free policy for Korean travelers.
The impact has been significant. At Holiday Islands Golf Club — one of the most popular courses in Guangzhou among Koreans — the number of Korean visitors rose 81 percent year on year in 2025, while the number of Chinese visitors grew by just 4.4 percent.
While Japan remained the top destination for Korean golfers, rising golf costs in Southeast Asia and safety concerns in countries like Thailand and Cambodia have made China the second most popular destination, Lee said, adding that Guangzhou accounted for more than 80 percent of Blooming Golf Tour’s China bookings.
“A recent surge in golf travel to Guangzhou from Korea has even made it difficult for locals to secure tee time bookings,” said Choi Woo-young, an international trader based in Guangzhou.
The capital of southern China’s Guangdong province, Guangzhou’s location works in its favor. Flights from Incheon to Guangzhou take just three and a half hours, and several golf courses are located within 30 to 40 minutes of the airport. That means Korean golfers can hit the greens quickly and maximize their time on the course. Many arrive, check in and tee off for night golf straight away. They stay a couple of days, squeeze in two or three rounds, then head home.
Quan and Lee said business travel was also fueling the trend, with the city’s high-quality, business-friendly golf courses drawing a growing number of Korean executives amid renewed commercial momentum between the two countries.
Bilateral ties have gained significant traction since November, when President Xi Jinping made his first visit to Korea in 11 years for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. That was followed by Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s state visit to Beijing in early January, during which the two sides pledged deeper cooperation.
“Guangzhou is home to many high-end courses tailored to business owners and executives, reflecting the city’s long-standing economic strength,” said Andrew Paik, CEO of Centum Golf, a golf travel platform connecting Korean travelers to premium courses overseas.
Market analysts say visits by Koreans to Guangzhou are expected to see steady growth as China continues to bolster its tourism industry to counter sluggish domestic demand.
“As China’s inbound facilitation expands and (visitor) stays lengthen, premium leisure categories like golf benefit disproportionately because they convert high-spend travelers and corporate groups,” said Subramania Bhatt, CEO of the travel marketing and technology firm China Trading Desk.
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