Based on the coupling theory, by the analysis of the coupling mechanism between inbound tourism and urban economy, the evaluation index system is constructed, and the typical tourist city of Guilin is selected. According to the statistical data of each index of inbound tourism and urban economic system from 2006 to 2017, this paper makes an empirical analysis on the situation of largescale evolution of coupling and coordination between the two systems. The measurement data show that the couplingdegree and coordination degree indices in Guilin have shown a large increase trend, and the coupling and coordinated development situation has been continuously optimized. However, the shortcoming is that the overall coordination level is still not very high and is in an “antagonistic coupling” state. The coupling coordination index is still in the “intermediate coordination” stage. The key reason that restricts the coordinated development of coupling is the lag of urban economy. While actively developing inbound tourism, Guilin needs to continue to adjust the urban industrial structure, develop the urban economy, and further optimize the degree of coupling and coordination.