HAIKOU, July 13. /TASS/. Sales at Hainan duty free shops in the first week after increasing the quota per person from July 1 to 100,000 yuan (about $ 14,200) amounted to 450 million yuan (about $ 64.34 million), reported Xinhua citing China's General Administration of Customs.
According to the customs, the most popular goods for the said period were cosmetics, jewelry and watches. These products accounted for about 77.3% of the total sales. Moreover, cosmetics came first with sales of 230 million yuan (about $ 33 million).
The data indicate that the residents of the eastern provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangsu, as well as the cities of central subordination of Shanghai, spent the most at Hainan duty free shops. On average, they spent from 9,000 to 10,130 yuan (from $1, 304 to $1,468).
Sales increase in duty free zones
Four duty free shops are currently open on Hainan: two of them are located in the provincial capital, Haikou, the rest — in Sanya and the coastal town of Boao. According to the latest data, their sales in May amounted to more than 1.9 billion yuan (about $ 279 million), which is by 141% more compared to the same period last year.
Over the recent years, Hainan's duty free zones have shown solid revenue growth. Thus, in 2018, sales in duty free shops on Hainan reached 10.1 billion yuan (about $ 1.47 billion), which is about 26% of the corresponding national figure. Last year, sales grew by more than 34%, to 13.61 billion yuan ($ 1.97 billion).
According to the data from the Haikou Customs Administration, the total sales of Hainan's duty free shops over nine years exceeded 55 billion yuan (about $ 7.78 billion).
Earlier, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Сhinese State Council published the “General Program for the Establishment of a Free Port on Hainan,” according to which the island’s administration intends to create an effective system to fulfill a number of important social and economic goals by 2025, and within 10 years to decisively enhance the innovative mechanisms for the region's development.
In April 2018, President Xi Jinping said that the Chinese authorities intend to actively involve Hainan in globalization and to draw foreign investors to the island province. By 2050, according to the authorities, the island should become a unique international cluster with an advanced economy, developed tourism, top-notch scientific, technical and financial potential, and modern medicine. The branches of the best universities and offices of the most powerful corporations in the world will be located on the Island of Hainan.