Hainan Unveils New International Tourism Consumption Plan

Hainan Province is doubling down on its ambition to become a globally influential tourism and consumption destination, unveiling a comprehensive five-year blueprint that sets ambitious targets for visitor numbers, duty-free spending, and inbound tourism. The plan, issued by the Hainan Provincial People’s Government on July 1, outlines the path for building the island into an international tourism consumption center by 2030, according to Xinhua News.

Ambitious 2030 Targets

The “15th Five-Year Plan for Hainan International Tourism Consumption Center” sets 16 expected indicators across six categories. By 2030, Hainan aims to receive 154 million domestic and international tourists annually, with tourism value-added accounting for 9 percent of GDP. Duty-free shopping is targeted to exceed 50 billion yuan, while inbound tourists are expected to reach 3.5 million. The province also aims to rise from 7th to 3rd place in global non-archipelago island tourism destination competitiveness rankings, as CNR reported.

The plan focuses on what officials call the “Three Consumption Articles”: duty-free shopping, specialized medical tourism, and international education. On duty-free, Hainan aims to build a “Global Duty-Free Shopping Center” brand, upgrading from tax-free attraction to brand-driven consumption and achieving “Buy in Hainan, Buy Globally.” The province will push for more open and convenient duty-free policies, upgrading product categories toward high-end customization and limited releases, and building a multi-tier supply structure combining island departure duty-free, island resident daily consumer goods duty-free, and cross-border e-commerce.

Special Customs Operations Drive Growth

The new plan builds on significant momentum from Hainan’s island-wide special customs operations, which officially launched on December 18, 2025. The zero-tariff, low-tax regime has transformed the island into a separate customs territory, dramatically boosting tourism and consumption activity.

According to the Hainan Government English website, duty-free sales supervised by customs from December 18, 2025 to January 17, 2026 reached 4.86 billion yuan (about US$693.5 million), up 46.8 percent year-on-year, with 745,000 shoppers, a 30.2 percent increase. By May 31, 2026, cumulative duty-free sales since customs operations had reached 20.34 billion yuan with 2.74 million shoppers, up 20.5 percent and 15.8 percent respectively.

The duty-free policy was further adjusted on November 1, 2025, expanding goods categories from 45 to 47 and extending benefits to outbound travelers. Local residents with a departure record can now purchase up to 15 “pick-up” items per year, making duty-free shopping a routine part of daily life for island residents.

Inbound Tourism Surges

Hainan’s visa-free entry policy now covers citizens of 86 countries, with 78 outbound passenger routes connecting to over 20 countries and regions. The first 7th freedom traffic rights passenger route, from Prague to Sanya, opened in December 2025, bringing 115 Czech travelers to the island.

The results have been striking. In 2025, Hainan received 106 million tourist visits, up 9.1 percent year-on-year, with total tourist spending reaching 225.4 billion yuan. Inbound overnight tourists surpassed 1.5 million, surging 35.2 percent. Since customs operations through May 31, 2026, inbound and outbound passengers reached 1.385 million, up 31.8 percent, with visa-free inbound travelers at 352,000, up 42.4 percent, as Sina News reported.

Beyond Duty-Free: Medical and Education Tourism

The plan extends beyond shopping. The Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone, China’s only “medical special zone,” has introduced over 570 international innovative drugs and devices with 40-plus medical institutions. In the first five months of 2026, the zone received 569,500 medical tourism visits, up 145.88 percent year-on-year, including 6,207 overseas medical tourists, a more than sevenfold increase.

“The medical services here are good and prices are reasonable, not as expensive as in Europe,” said Bubokov Stoilov, a Bulgarian medical tourist who visited Boao Lecheng for a week of treatment.

On the education front, Hainan is leveraging the Lingshui Li’an International Education Innovation Pilot Zone to attract overseas high-level universities and expand international study tourism services.

Tourism Plus Integration

Hainan is actively integrating tourism with sports, performing arts, space exploration, and technology. The province hosted the 6th China International Consumer Products Expo in April 2026, attracting exhibitors from 60-plus countries and regions with 3,400-plus brands. During the expo, customs supervised 470 million yuan in duty-free shopping.

During the “15th Five-Year Plan” period, Hainan will focus on building five major tourism destinations: an international consumption fashion leader, a marine culture and tourism destination, a mountain-sea connected all-region tourism practice area, a unique functional tourism destination, and a tourism technology deep experience destination. The province will also develop six specialized tourism consumption clusters spanning culture, sports, medical, education, space, and ecological tourism.

What’s Next

As Hainan enters the second year of its special customs operations, the “15th Five-Year Plan” period (2026-2030) represents a critical window for the province to achieve high-quality leapfrog development. The province aims to explore a distinctive path for tourism consumption-driven economic growth, becoming a key node in the domestic and international dual circulation and a major gateway for China’s new era of opening up.

With policy dividends continuing to release and infrastructure improving, Hainan’s transformation from a tropical getaway to a world-class tourism and consumption hub is accelerating. The coming years will test whether the ambitious targets translate into sustained growth as the province competes with established global tourism destinations.