It's a Nanchang University-affiliated research institution within the School of Tourism.. It belongs to the source think tank of Chinese Think Tank Index (CTTI), and is the major institution for pilot construction of new think tank in Jiangxi Province.

The Tourism Research Institute was originally known as the Tourism Planning and Research Center of Nanchang University founded in 2003. The Center was designated as the Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of General Higher Education Institutions of Jiangxi Province in 2006. In 2017, it was officially renamed as Tourism Research Institute of Nanchang University and shared space with Jiangxi Red Tourism Research Center of Nanchang University. In September 2017, the Tourism Research Institute was certificated as a National Research Base for Innovation and Development of Red Tourism.

Research direction: red tourism, tourism branding, social and cultural changes of tourism destinations, and holistic tourism development.