Hainan’s duty-free momentum continues, despite covid
Local administrators in Hainan have revealed that offshore duty-free sales in the province amounted to $2.3 billion during the first quarter of this year, representing an 8.4% rise on the year previous.
This was despite March’s downward trend, which local media attributed to the effects of covid-19 and the Chinese central government’s pandemic prevention and control measures.
In total, shoppers made more than 20 million duty-free purchases during the quarter, an increase of 14% on the comparative period in 2021. Per capita duty-free spend was approximately $1,310, according to reports.
In 2020, China’s government began rolling out a plan to make the entire island province, the smallest and most southerly in the country, a free-trade zone. This means visitors from other parts of China and from other countries can now travel to Hainan and buy luxury products, including footwear, at duty-free prices. Visitors from 59 countries now have visa-free access to Hainan.
