During Chinese New Year, Hainan has attracted a large number of domestic shoppers who are unable to travel abroad for a shopping holiday. The island province has become a duty-free haven following the rolling out of a comprehensive plan to transform it into a free trade port last year.
According to the Hainan Provincial Department of Commerce, duty-free shoppers leaving the island spent over 700 million RMB ($108 million) in the four-day sales period from February 11 to 14. Daily sales exceeded 280 million RMB ($43 million) on Valentine’s Day. Hainan’s nine duty-free shops launched a series of campaigns to attract consumers during the festival, including special discounts and limited-edition products.
Hainan’s duty-free shops are trying to expand and grow their brand presence, and plan to surpass a sales transaction value of over 60 billion RMB ($9.29 billion) in 2021. COVID-19 travel restrictions have encouraged many Chinese consumers to consider Hainan as a shopping destination and visitors to the island’s duty-free shops grew by 70% year-on-year in July/August 2020. As well as shopping, Hainan also provides a relaxing beach break and its resort Sanya was the most popular domestic destination in 2020.
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