The STARs Tourism Cities Alliance was officially established during the opening ceremony of the 2023 International Conference of Mountain Tourism and Outdoor Sports in Xingyi city, Guizhou province, on Sept 16.

The alliance was jointly initiated and established by the cities of Guiyang, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Guilin and Kunming.

During the ceremony, members signed the "alliance declaration", and jointly illuminated the member cities' landmarks.

The alliance observes the principles of "resource sharing, mutual exchange of tourists, complementary advantages, and common development."

It is committed to promoting exchanges and cooperation among alliance members, strengthening cooperation in the tourism market, sharing tourism development experience, jointly exploring tourist source markets, and promoting the transformation and upgrading of the tourism industry in the eastern and western regions of China, as well as facilitating the high-quality development of the tourism market.

According to the "alliance declaration," the alliance will jointly discuss major tourism cooperation matters, and promote comprehensive exchanges and cooperation in policies, talents, and marketing. 

It will also promote the advanced experience of alliance cities, share tourism and development trends, and jointly build world-class tourism "city clusters" and "scenic belts."

Meanwhile, the alliance will strengthen the complementary advantages of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Yunnan-Guizhou-Guangxi regions, to carry out diverse cooperation in resources, tourists, routes, and culture.

It will also integrate high-quality cultural and tourism resources in each region, ramp up regional marketing, and conduct promotional activities as mutual tourist destinations.

Additionally, the alliance will conduct mutual visits and inspections, establish a platform for investment attraction for alliance members, and strengthen exchanges and cooperation in broader fields, at deeper levels, and based on higher standards, in a bid to achieve the vision of becoming a new benchmark in the cooperation and development of Chinese tourism cities.