HAIKOU, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Duty-free sales in China's island province of Hainan reached 3.78 billion yuan (about 585.5 million U.S. dollars) in January, an increase of 143.6 percent year on year, Haikou Customs said.

Hainan's offshore duty-free shops received some 509,000 customers and sold 5.11 million products during the period, up 29 percent and 146.6 percent year on year, respectively.

Hainan vows to build itself into an international tourism consumption center and has increased annual tax-free shopping quota per person from 30,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan from July 1, 2020. The categories of duty-free goods have also been expanded from 38 to 45, with electronic products such as mobile phones and laptops added to the duty-free list.

On Jan. 31, two new offshore duty-free shops opened in Haikou, the provincial capital, raising the number of duty-free shops in the province to nine.

The province has rolled out a range of policies such as flexible pick-up services to facilitate customers during the Spring Festival holiday.