Hainan's Official Portal for Global Investors
SANYA, April 18. /TASS/. The authorities of the southern Hainan resort of Sanya intend to fast-track the creation of an international consumption and tourism center in the city, Sanya Daily reported.
According to the newspaper, President Xi Jinping set this task before the leadership of the region in his speech dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Hainan Province. Municipal authorities have taken a number of measures to promote the development of the tourism industry, introducing new products in this area, and internationalizing the resort.
The development of duty-free trade is one of the key measures. Currently, there are four shopping centers operating in this format. A total of more than 700 major international brands are represented in them. For the convenience of tourists duty-free stores also launched a postal delivery service, so that guests of the island can receive their purchases upon their return from the resort.
Sales of duty-free stores reached 35.45 billion yuan (about $ 5.56 billion), an increase of 71.7% in annual terms. Meanwhile, in the first two months of this year alone, their revenue reached 9.43 billion yuan (about $1.48 billion), an increase of 61.32% compared to the same period last year. The number of customers also showed a significant positive trend - more than 4.09 million people made purchases in duty free in 2021, which is 62.88% more than the same figure in 2020.
As the newspaper notes, the exemption of some categories of imported goods from import duties also has a great potential for development. According to the city's customs office, 23 recreational boats worth a total of 260 million yuan (about $40.75 million) were exempted from customs duties in 2021. The city's enterprises imported equipment worth about 40.8 million yuan (about $6.4 million) for their own needs using the same procedure.
The city's tourism industry is currently undergoing a major structural change: while activity in the sector used to vary widely depending on the season, Sanya is now focusing on attract tourists on a year-round basis.
"In the past, if people talked about Sanya, it was mostly about the sea, the beaches and the sun. But in recent years we have also created a completely new situation in areas such as cultural tourism, there are new tourism products that promote the development of this area and gave it a new impetus," Director of the Sanya Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports Bureau Chen Zhenmin told the publication. According to him, these are sea cruises, shopping, cultural events and exhibitions, sports, wedding tourism, gastronomic tours and other products.
According to the newspaper, more than 21.62 million tourists visited Sanya in 2021, which is 19.7% more than in 2020. And total tourism revenue last year was 74.70 billion yuan (about 11.7 billion yuan), up 65.2% year-on-year.
