South China's resort island of Hainan plans to control tourists' cars to ease traffic congestion during holidays.

The plan is included in its economic and social development plan for 2014, which was passed Thursday at the annual session of Hainan Provincial People's Congress, the provincial legislature.

Hainan will "strengthen administration" on tourists vehicles entering the island, said the report.

The decision came after an increase in arrival of tourists driving their own cars and serious traffic jams in recent years during national holidays.

During the Lunar New Year holiday, which ended on Feb. 6, Hainan received 2.6 million tourists, an increase of 37 percent year on year, according to the Hainan Tourism Development Commission.

In 28 hotels sampled on the island, there were 53,609 independent tourists and 27,520 group travelers during the period.

The Haikou port is the only way for cars to get on and off the island. During the holiday, the port handled 70,000 passengers and 13,000 vehicles each day. At the peak, 110,000 passengers and 20,000 vehicles passed the port daily.

Sanya, a popular resort in the south of the island, has 96,000 cars of its own, plus 100,000 more from outside which arrived during the festival, said Wang Yong, mayor of the city.

The city, with a downtown population of 300,000, received 1 million tourists during the holiday.

"Traffic congestion is natural," said Wang.

"It was really too congested," complained a taxi driver who fully supports the government's move.

"It was the busiest Spring Festival I have ever seen. There were a lot more vehicles than in previous years," said Liu, a Sanya traffic police officer who worked from early morning to midnight each day during the holiday.

"An excessive number of outside vehicles will harm Hainan's resources and environment. Hainan cannot handle that many cars," said Zhou Yan, an official of the Hainan Development and Reform Commission, in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

The concrete steps under discussion include collecting fees from tourists who arrive by car to promote clean energy and construction of infrastructure, such as large ports and airports, said Zhou, also a drafter of the government report.