HAIKOU, Dec. 24 -- The south China province of Hainan, famous for its resorts, has seen a surge in offshore duty-free shopping, with total sales revenue of 6.3 billion yuan (1.03 billion U.S. dollars) between April 2011 and Dec. 2013.

In that period, Hainan saw over 2.51 million tourist arrivals, and 8.96 million items were sold in the province's two offshore duty-free stores, according to data released on Tuesday by Haikou Customs.

Hainan has two duty-free shops, with one in the provincial capital of Haikou and the other in the resort city of Sanya.

The island province has seen booming tourism since the offshore duty-free program was put into place in April 2011 on a trial basis.

Individual tourists and local residents aged 16 or above can enjoy duty exemptions on certain imported commodities worth no more than 8,000 yuan before flying to other destinations within China.

China has made efforts to promote Hainan as an international tourist destination by issuing duty-free policies, tax refunds after departure, and visa exemptions for tourists from 26 countries.

In 2012, Hainan took in tourism revenues of about 38 billion yuan, an 80-percent year-on-year increase.

Hainan is expected to gain tourism revenue of 43.6 billion yuan in 2013.