Offshore tax-free policy boosts Hainan tourism

By Wang Jingjing

Updated: 2011-07-13

Tax-free retail stores in Sanya are helping boost tourism in China’s southernmost city and Hainan province during what traditionally are the slowest months for tourism, April through August.

Hainan province reports a big increase in tourists attracted to the savings from tax-free imported goods. Since the policy was adopted in April, the number of monthly tourists in Hainan province has reached 2.38 million, an 11.25 percent year-to-year increase. The number of monthly tourists in the Hainan provincial city of Sanya has reached 796,000.

During the Labor Day holidays, the off-shore tax-free stores proved popular, with huge crowds and rush purchases reported each day. The tax-free policy has greatly strengthened Hainan’s tourism industry, local officials said.