Duty-free shopping boosts tourism in China's Hainan

The continuous improvements in offshore duty-free policies in south China's Hainan Province in recent years have enhanced the shopping experience for tourists.

Last year, two additional methods for picking up offshore duty-free goods - "buy and pick-up" and "guaranteed pick-up" -were introduced, further igniting tourists' passion for offshore duty-free shopping, which has become a calling card of Hainan.

Photo shows people at the CDF Haikou International Duty Free Shopping Complex in south China's Hainan Province. (Photo/Su Bikun)

Various duty-free operators in Hainan have introduced diverse online and offline promotional campaigns, continuously stimulating new vitality for tourism consumption.

"I came to Hainan specifically to buy duty-free goods. Some products are only available at the duty-free stores in Hainan, and there won't be any counterfeits, thanks to customs supervision," said a man surnamed Liu from Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province at the CDF Haikou Meilan Airport Duty Free Shop in Haikou, capital of the island province.

Since its opening in 2011 following the introduction of Hainan's offshore duty-free policies, the duty-free shop has hosted over 600 brands in a shopping area of more than 17,000 square meters, up from just dozens of brands and 637 square meters, respectively, in its initial phase. A total of 100 million tourists have also purchased 35.03 million duty-free products worth over 24.7 billion yuan ($3.48 billion) at the shop, making it a popular destination for tourists' offshore duty-free shopping.

Duty-free goods have gradually become a new "specialty" of Hainan. Buying duty-free products at airports before leaving the island has become a must for many tourists.

By introducing brands and limited-edition products, the CDF Haikou Meilan Airport Duty Free Shop has encouraged an increasing number of tourists to shop. "We will organize more promotional activities to benefit more tourists in the future," said Hao Zhiqiang, deputy executive general manager of the duty-free shop.

Hainan added two methods for picking up offshore duty-free goods starting in April 2023, namely, "buy and pick-up" and "guaranteed pick-up."

When purchasing duty-free goods listed in an annex list before each departure from the island, tourists can choose the "buy and pick-up" method for duty-free goods with a unit price of less than 20,000 yuan, which reduces their queue time to pick up their goods.

"The 'buy and pick-up' method has greatly reduced the warehousing cost of our duty-free shop. Many new products are eagerly snapped up and sold out very quickly after hitting the shelves. We have upgraded our store and warehouse management model," said an executive of the CDF Haikou International Duty Free Shopping Complex.

Photo shows tourists at the CDF Haikou International Duty Free Shopping Complex in south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)

The new policy has ignited people's enthusiasm for consumption. According to Haikou Customs, as of Dec. 31, 2023 since the implementation of the policy, over 1.28 million people had chosen the "buy and pick-up" method and purchased 2.82 million duty-free products worth 2.51 billion yuan.

Hainan saw total offshore duty-free sales surging by 25.4 percent year on year to 43.76 billion yuan in 2023, Haikou Customs said. Last year, about 6.76 million shoppers, a year-on-year increase of 59.9 percent, purchased 51.3 million duty-free products in the island province.

During the three-day 2024 New Year holiday, 65,700 shoppers bought offshore duty-free products worth 475 million yuan in Hainan.

The thriving offshore duty-free market reflects Hainan's booming tourism sector. In the first 11 months of 2023, the province received over 80.11 million tourist visits, up 49.7 percent year on year, and its tourism revenue surged 67.3 percent year on year to about 162.27 billion yuan, both surpassing the levels in the same period of 2019, according to data released by the Hainan provincial department of tourism, culture, radio, television and sports.

Statistics showed that during this year's New Year holiday, Hainan received about 1.72 million tourist visits, a year-on-year growth of 68.9 percent, with tourism revenue rising by 60.1 percent from the same period last year to about 2.41 billion yuan.