Tourism market recovery in China’s Hainan accelerates

Tourism consumption in South China’s Hainan Province has accelerated thanks to the strong recovery of cross-provincial tours this year and the implementation of pro-consumption measures.

The number of tourists welcomed by Sanya, a coastal resort city in the province, during this year’s Spring Festival holiday increased by 616,400 compared with the same period in 2019.

Tourists visit an aquarium in Atlantis Hotel in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, Dec. 30, 2022. (Xinhua/Wang Xue)

Data from the local cultural and tourism bureau shows Sanya Phoenix International Airport received more than 1.1 million incoming tourists in January, up 22.38 percent year on year, while revenue from overnight domestic visitors reached nearly 10.18 billion yuan ($1.46 billion), a year-on-year increase of 33.26 percent.

The average occupancy rate at tourist hotels in Sanya was 80 percent between Feb. 10 and 19.

Offshore duty-free sales supervised by Sanya Customs reached over 5.99 billion yuan between Jan. 7 and Feb. 15, accounting for 66.95 percent of the total in Hainan. Tourists flocked to scenic areas after the Spring Festival holiday. Data showed that the number of tourists received per day on average by 17 scenic areas in Sanya stayed at above 120,000 recently.

China unveiled a plan to boost domestic demand for the 2022-2035 period, calling for cultivating tourism attractions such as islands, cruise ships, low-altitude flight tourism, and deserts at an accelerated pace.

New tourism attractions such as yacht trips are highly sought-after in Hainan. “Yacht trips are in high demand this year, and tourists have to wait for seats sometimes,” said Xiang Yu, director of the cruise and yacht industry division of the Sanya Central Business District Administration.

Data from the Sanya Yachting Association shows that 180,000 tourists took 18,000 trips in January, up 59.29 percent and 3.18 percent, respectively.

The recover in consumption has injected strong impetus into the economy. Haikou Customs said the offshore duty-free sales supervised by customs in the province had reached 6.38 billion yuan in January.

The accelerated pace of building Hainan into an international hub for consumption and tourism, the flow of elements of international trade, and the holding of conventions, exhibitions and major events have injected impetus into the recovery of Hainan’s tourism industry, said an official from Sanya’s cultural and tourism bureau.