Hainan reaches nearly 100 billion yuan in duty-free sales

Customers visit Sanya Hailyu Duty-Free City on its opening day in Sanya, Hainan province, on Dec 30 last year. Hainan has sold about 98 billion yuan of duty-free goods in the past 10 years, with more than 25 million people shopping and about 120 million pieces of items sold, according to a news conference marking the 10th anniversary of the implementation of offshore duty-free shopping in South China's Hainan province. Introduced in Hainan on April 20, 2011 to boost development of Hainan Island as an international tourist destination, the offshore duty-free policy has been continuously adjusted and upgraded regarding per capital duty-free shopping quotas, number of shopping items and times, and ranges of commodity varieties for the benefits and convenience of tourists, officials said at the meeting. Huang said Haikou Customs has cracked down on 79 smuggling gangs in the past two years, involving 250 million yuan in total value, and enforced tighter controls over the grey market driven by daigou, professional shoppers who buy duty-free goods from shops in Hainan on behalf of customers in other parts of the country. Offshore duty-free sales in Hainan, known as China's Hawaii, are expected to reach 60 billion yuan in 2021, doubling the annual record for the second year in a row, as fine-tuned favorable policies continue to draw more consumers, said provincial governor Feng Fei.