China’s island province of Hainan welcomed more than 83 million domestic and international visitors in 2019.
Tourist arrivals were up 9% year on year with an 11% bump in tourist related revenues.
Predominantly a market for domestic tourists, Hainan received 1.42 million international visitors which were up by 12.4% on 2018, according to the provincial department of tourism.
The tropical island province, known as China’s Hawaii, has only quite recently been targeting international markets.
Since mid-2018 it has offered 30-day visa-free access to Hainan to travellers from 59 countries, even though the rest of mainland China requires visas.
Visa waivers are available via a Hainan-registered travel agency.
The island’s two airports at Sanya and Haikou have a wide network of direct flights across Asia as well as scheduled and charter long haul services to Europe.
Marriott International just recently opened its second JW Marriott hotel in Sanya.
