Hainan records big rise in summer duty-free sales

People shop at a duty-free shopping mall in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, May 29, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

Hainan province recorded a sharp rise in duty-free sales over the summer holiday period, according to figures released by Haikou Customs.

From July 1 to Aug 31, the island's 12 offshore duty-free shops recorded total sales of 3.67 billion yuan ($505 million), with 3.8 million items purchased by 667,000 shoppers, according to Haikou Customs.

"I took time off to bring my child to Hainan, and he picked out a Lego set. With the 'instant pick-up' policy, we could take it right away and enjoy it during our trip - he was thrilled," said a tourist from Beijing surnamed Zhang.

Over the summer, Hainan launched the "Buy in Hainan 2025" campaign - the fourth of its kind - along with the 7th Hainan Duty-Free Shopping Festival. The campaign featured more than 30 new brands and introduced numerous first-to-market products, creating diverse shopping scenarios and promotional offers to boost consumer engagement.

Duan Nanlan, sales director at China Duty Free Group's Sanya International Duty Free Shopping Complex, said: "We focused on family and parent-child customers by opening Hainan's first Care Bears pop-up and the Chinese mainland's first themed café.

"We also accelerated restocking of duty-free toys like Lego and Hasbro to meet demand, with both a cheerful shopping atmosphere and abundant product options."

To ensure the smooth operation of the duty-free policy during the peak season, Haikou employed a combined centralized and automated review system, with dedicated staff accelerating product approvals - especially for new and debut items - to streamline logistics and ensure availability.