Hainan's intl tourism consumption center construction gains momentum

Hainan held a press conference at Haikou International Duty Free City on Nov 27 to provide an update on the progress made in pursuing its international tourism consumption center.

As one of the four leading industries in the construction of Hainan Free Trade Port, tourism has gained momentum in recent years, said Liu Cheng, deputy director of the Hainan Provincial Department of Culture, Radio, Film, Television, Publications and Sports.

The level of tourism consumption in Hainan is increasing and the structure to cater to this demand is being optimized. In 2021, visitors to Hainan stayed an average of 4.36 days and spent over 4,800 yuan ($680) on their trip.

With the goal of creating a "shopping paradise", "recreation paradise" and "holiday paradise", and with a focus on building a model province for holistic tourism, Hainan will promote the integration of tourism and consumption, and the development of tourism and cultural integration, added Liu.

Offshore duty-free shopping is a key selling point for Hainan as it promotes the construction of an international tourism consumption center. Since the opening of the first duty-free shop on the island in 2011, annual sales of duty-free products in Hainan have increased nearly 50-fold to total more than 100 billion yuan.

While promoting the deeper development of offshore duty-free shopping, Hainan is also actively cultivating new consumer brands. The number of brands in Hainan's offshore duty-free shops now exceeds 1,500.

Meanwhile, Hainan has seen its cumulative use of foreign capital rise from 0.54 percent of the national total in 2018 to 2 percent in 2021. That year, the island province saw imports and exports of goods reach 147.68 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 57.7 percent, or 36.1 percentage points higher than that recorded by the country as a whole.

For the next step, Hainan will continue to promote consumption, guide cities and counties to organize various forms of online and offline consumer promotion activities, and consider how to better exploit local consumption trends and festivals.

Haikou International Duty Free City. [Photo/IC]