HAIKOU - China's southernmost province Hainan is striving to build itself into an international tourism and consumption center with duty-free shopping and featured industries.

The island province saw over 26 million visits in the first quarter of 2023, generating a revenue of more than 53 billion yuan ($7.35 billion), up 20.2 percent and 25.4 percent year-on-year, respectively, according to official data.

During the five-day May Day holiday this year, the province saw 3.2 million tourist visits, up 141.5 percent from a year ago, with tourism revenue rocketing by 178.8 percent to 4.23 billion yuan.

Liu Cheng, deputy director of the provincial department of tourism, culture, radio, television and sports, said that the province is developing all-for-one tourism consisting of coasts and beaches, rainforest parks and tour routes around the island.

Thriving duty-free shopping

The province's duty-free shops raked in 16.9 billion yuan in the first quarter of this year, up 14.6 percent year-on-year, according to Haikou Customs.

With 12 duty-free shopping malls, the province aims to increase offshore duty-free sales to over 80 billion yuan by the end of 2023.

Developed by China Duty Free Group (CDF), Haikou International Duty Free Shopping Complex is the world's largest stand-alone duty-free shopping mall with a construction area of around 280,000 square meters and features more than 800 well-known international and domestic brands.

According to Wang Renan, CDF Haikou's sales manager, the shopping complex has successfully expanded its range of brands and shops, and plans various shopping activities, especially during holidays and festivals, to attract consumers.

Meanwhile, the local government has fine-tuned policies step by step, increasing the annual duty-free quota per person, duty-free categories and delivery methods. Favorable duty-free shopping policies, implemented as part of the core policies for the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port, have boosted consumer willingness to spend.

Li Gang, deputy manager of China Tourism Group, the country's biggest state-owned tourism enterprise, suggested that Hainan further improve the quality of tourism and design more travel brands and products based on duty-free shopping malls like CDF Haikou.

Burgeoning tourism industries

As China's highland of educational opening up and innovation, Lingshui Li'an International Education Innovation Pilot Zone has inked agreements with 22 renowned colleges and universities from home and abroad since June 2020. It is promoting as well as encouraging overseas high-level universities to run independent schools in the zone.

The pilot zone is the epitome of Hainan's efforts on implementing its "Studying in Hainan" strategy. The province has invested about 40 billion yuan in over 130 cooperation projects and attracted about 25,000 talents in the field of education over the past five years.

The local government signed an agreement with the German Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences last December, which will be the first overseas university to run independent schools in China.

The resort island is also placing significant emphasis on the medical care industry as one of its featured sectors.

Over 300 types of imported medicine and medical equipment have been approved to be used at Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone in Bo'ao, a town near the island's east coast. The pilot zone received 189,000 medical tourists last year, up 48.5 percent year-on-year.

China's enormous market demands in tourism, medical care and education sectors provide a solid foundation for Hainan's high-quality development, said Liu Feng, director of the Research Center for Free Trade Port with Chinese Characteristics at Hainan Normal University.

He added that with high-level opening-up, Hainan is becoming an intersection of domestic and international economic flows.