HAIKOU, March 26. /TASS/. Sales at Hainan's duty free shops in January-February 2021 amounted to 8.324 billion yuan (about $ 1.27 billion), up by 319% over the same period last year, stated the Haikou customs administraion. 

As noted, during the first two months, more than 10.5 million units of goods were sold, over 1 million people made purchases. The document emphasizes that the significant increase in sales is associated with the outbreak of the coronavirus early in 2020, due to which the island's duty free shops were temporarily closed.

At the end of 2020, sales at the Hainan duty free chain amounted to 32.74 billion yuan (about $ 5.07 billion at the exchange rate at the time of publication of the data), which is 127% higher in annual terms. The pandemic led to a slight drop in sales in the first half of 2020, but in the second half of the year there was a rapid increase amid the improvement in the epidemic situation in the country and the influx of Chinese tourists to the province. The increase in sales volumes was also facilitated by an increase from 30,000 to 100,000 yuan (from $ 4,200 to $ 14,200) since July 1 last year, the presonal quota for purchases in local duty free stores. The list of duty free goods was expanded from 38 to 45 items.

A pilot program for the development of a chain of duty free shops on Hainan was launched by the Chinese government in 2011. There are currently nine duty free stores on the island.