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Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –
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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News
Haikou, January 18 (Xinhua) — Shoppers formed a long line at the checkout at the Sanya International Duty-Free Shopping Complex in the southern Chinese island province of Hainan. Anton, a tourist from Belarus, was shopping with his family and purchased an iPhone 17.
"This phone is much cheaper here than in Belarus," he said. He decided to spend his second vacation in Hainan. "It's very cold in Belarus right now, unlike the warm winter in Hainan, so we came here for a vacation."
In the depths of winter, Hainan is experiencing peak tourist season. For many visitors, duty-free shopping has become an integral part of their itinerary. Especially since China launched independent customs operations throughout the Hainan Free Trade Port (HFTP) on December 18, 2025, duty-free shopping has experienced an unprecedented boom, underscoring Hainan's vitality and enormous potential as an international tourism and consumer hub.
The boom in duty-free consumption is driven not only by the rapid growth in popularity of special customs operations, but also by the targeted receipt of dividends from policy.
To better meet the diverse needs of tourists, Hainan's duty-free shopping policy underwent further adjustments effective November 1, 2025. The number of product categories covered by the policy increased from 45 to 47, and the beneficiary group was expanded to include tourists traveling abroad, attracting more international travelers to shop at local duty-free shops.
"This mall is amazing. There are so many things I want to buy, and the prices are low," said a tourist from Russia, adding that the duty-free shop featured many international brands, many of which are hard to find in her country.
Furthermore, the new duty-free shopping policy significantly lowered the purchasing threshold for local residents. Specifically, according to the policy's provisions, local residents with at least one record of leaving the island in a given year can purchase goods from 15 categories an unlimited number of times per year, further encouraging local shopping.
At a duty-free shop in Haikou, the capital of Hainan Province, local resident Pan Meishi, who left the island a week ago, was wandering through the cosmetics section.
"Previously, locals could only buy duty-free goods when leaving the island, but now shopping has become much more convenient. Visiting a duty-free shop is just like going to a regular shopping mall," she said.
According to Haikou Customs, from December 18, 2025 to January 17, 2026, the sales volume of duty-free goods managed by customs reached 4.86 billion yuan (about 693.5 million US dollars), an increase of 46.8 percent year-on-year, and the number of buyers increased by 30.2 percent year-on-year to 745,000, indicating the continued strong vitality of the consumption sector.
Since the implementation of the new duty-free policy, especially after the special customs operations carried out within the Hainan Free Trade Port, the Sanya International Duty-Free Shopping Complex has seen a steady increase in both average daily sales and passenger traffic.
Liu Kun, Deputy General Manager of China Tourism Group, said duty-free shops are the foundation for building an international tourism and consumption hub in Hainan. They play an indispensable role in attracting global consumer resources, attracting international clients, and boosting consumption.
The rapid growth of duty-free consumption is just a microcosm of the construction of an international tourism and consumption center in Hainan.
The latest official data showed that in 2025, tourist arrivals to Hainan reached 106 million, up 9.1 percent from 2024, and total tourist spending reached RMB 225.4 billion, up 10.5 percent from the previous year. Among these, the number of overnight visitors to Hainan exceeded 1.5 million, an increase of 35.2 percent year-on-year.
According to the official implementation plan, China aims to transform Hainan into a world-famous tourist destination and consumer place by 2035. -0-
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