Gaode Map Marketing: How Southbound Travel Scheme Unlocks New GBA Opportunities

The launch of the Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles scheme (粵車南下) marks a new milestone in cross-border mobility within the Greater Bay Area (GBA). By allowing Guangdong drivers to enter Hong Kong via the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge (HZMB),  This initiative creates a new segment of high-intent, mobile, and affluent Chinese outbound tourists.

As ”self-drive” tourism and short-haul leisure trips continue to grow across the GBA, digital navigation platforms such as Gaode Map (Amap) are becoming essential tools for trip planning, navigation, and destination discovery. This shift creates significant opportunities for marketers to capture high-intent travelers through location-based platforms.

 

The Southbound Travel Scheme: A New Era of GBA Mobility

Officially launched in December 2025, the travel scheme enables approved Guangdong private cars to drive into Hong Kong through the HZMB.¹

Demand has already demonstrated strong early momentum, that cross-border driving between Guangdong and Hong Kong is quickly becoming a new travel pattern within the Greater Bay Area.

• • 2,500+ applications submitted by Guangdong drivers within the first month²

• • 1,700 drivers have successfully booked trips to Hong Kong³

• • During Chinese New Year, about 600 Guangdong motorists drove into Hong Kong²

As more mainland visitors enter Hong Kong with their own vehicles, their travel journeys increasingly rely on digital navigation tools to discover destinations, plan routes, and locate nearby services — creating new marketing opportunities on platforms such as Gaode Map.

 

Navigation Apps: The New “Front Door” for Retail & F&B

For Chinese outbound tourists, digital navigation apps are an essential travel companion. Travelers increasingly rely on mapping platforms not only for route planning but also for discovering nearby restaurants, attractions, shopping malls, and services.

Platforms like Gaode Map have evolved into a full-service travel and lifestyle discovery ecosystem when intent meets location.

Typical user journey on Gaode Map:

• • Intent: Search for specific destinations or nearby services

• • Discovery: Discover restaurants, retail outlets, and attractions

• • Validation: View reviews, merchant information, and promotional coupons

• • Action: Navigate directly to physical storefront

This behavior makes map platforms particularly powerful in location-based marketing, where consumer intent is already tied to a physical destination. Because the user is already "on the road," the conversion from digital search to physical footfall is significantly higher than on traditional social media.

 

Gaode Map: China’s Leading Mobility Platform

Gaode Map remains one of the most influential platforms for mobility and local discovery in China.

Key platform statistics:

Metric	Data
Monthly active users	800M+ nationwide
Ranking	Among China’s Top 5 apps by MAU
Hong Kong MAU	3.5M users; China Tourists: 2.45M
Macau MAU	1.5M users; China Tourists: 1.2M
User Profile	High-intent travelers, car owners, and “Lifestyle Seekers”

Unlike traditional social media platforms that focus on content discovery, Gaode Map captures real-time travel intentwhen users actively search for places or navigation routes.

 

Gaode Map Marketing: Turning Digital Intent into Footfall

Through location-based marketing (LBM), Gaode Map enables brands to intercept consumers at the most relevant moment of their trip.

1. 商戶通 (Merchant Connect): Building Private-Domain Excellence 

Establish your brand’s “Digital Storefront”. This tool allows brands to manage their POI (Point of Interest) information, upload high-quality content, and use performance analytics to build a sustainable private-domain presence on the map.

2. 推廣通 (Promo Connect): Driving O2O Footfall 

This is a one-stop media buying solution that places your brand in search results, POI pages, and “Nearby” recommendations, driving real-world footfall and convert online exposure to offline store-visit.

Case study Insight: A health supplement brand achieved a surge of 10,000+ search, 700+ detail page views, and 44+ navigation actions within weeks by targeting users high-intent travelers entering Hong Kong using these touchpoints.

 

Unlock Cross-Border Growth with Gaode Map and iClick

The Southbound Travel Scheme signals a new phase of mobility-driven tourism across the Greater Bay Area. As cross-border travel becomes more seamless, brands must adapt to platforms where travelers actively plan their journeys.

As an official Gaode Map partner, iClick empowers brands to leverage Gaode Map’s data and location intelligence across Hong Kong, Macau, and the Greater Bay Area.

Our solutions include:

• • O2O Strategic campaign planning, connecting digital discovery on Gaode Map with measurable offline sales.

• • Location-based audience targeting, reaching travelers based on their real-time proximity to your stores.

• • Cross-border consumer insights

• • Media buying campaign optimization and performance tracking

With Gaode Map Marketing and iClick’s expertise, businesses can connect digital discovery with real-world foot traffic —turning navigation into measurable commercial impact.

Connect with iClick today to unlock the potential of Gaode Map Marketing across the Greater Bay Area.

 

Source:
1: People’s Daily: Hong Kong's Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles scheme officially implemented
2: rthk.hk: 'Promising southbound driving numbers for CNY'
3. rthk: Southbound cars quota almost full amid holiday cheer

 

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