From December 18 to 24, during the first week of Hainan Free Trade Port's customs closure, Sanya's off-island duty-free sales reached a cumulative total of 736 million yuan (RMB, same below), marking a 48.2% year-on-year increase. The city welcomed a cumulative total of 635,000 visitors. Zheng Conghui, Director of the Sanya Municipal Bureau of Commerce, stated in an interview on the 25th that during the first week of the closed-border operation, both sales and visitor traffic in Sanya's duty-free market showed strong growth, fully unleashing the market vitality and consumption potential brought by the free trade port's closed-border policy.
Multiple duty-free stores in Sanya launched various promotional activities to attract tourists. Reporters observed a steady stream of vehicles arriving and departing at the entrance of CDF Sanya International Duty-Free City that day, while consumers queued up inside to purchase duty-free goods. Wei Na, a tourist from Shaanxi, selected a handbag at Hainan Travel Duty-Free City. “With all the discounts stacked together, I saved about 1,000 yuan compared to regular purchasing channels. It's a great deal,” she remarked.
Sanya's tourism and hospitality sector also demonstrated robust operational momentum. “Since the 18th of this month, our hotel's average occupancy rate has exceeded 90%. Based on booking trends, this strong demand is expected to continue through the New Year period,” said Wang Wen, Public Relations Manager at Atlantis Sanya. She noted that while the hotel primarily targets family-oriented guests, there has been a significant increase in business travelers and international visitors recently.
With the New Year's Day and Spring Festival holidays approaching, data from multiple online travel platforms shows that Sanya has ranked among China's top five most popular tourist destinations. During these holidays, Sanya will host over 70 major events and distribute comprehensive consumption vouchers targeting key sectors such as duty-free shopping, supermarkets, and dining to sustain robust tourism spending.
Editor Ⅰ: Zhang Congxiao
Editor Ⅱ: Bao Gang
Editor Ⅲ: Liu Guosong
