SANYA, July 10. /TASS/. Hainan's Sanya ranked fourth in Tripadvisor's global travel and tourism destinations ranking, reported the "Sanya Daily". 

Based on an analysis of traveler reviews, the ranking includes 25 destinations this year. The data is analyzed for a year.

As indicated by Sanya's office for tourism promotion, the restoration of normal tourist flow in the city began in May 2020. Since the third quarter of 2020, the total number of tourists staying overnight in the city's hotels and the total income of the tourism sector have been maintained at a stable level. At the same time, during public holidays in October, there was an increase in tourist traffic by 12.69%, and the income of this industry — by 39.33%.

The main driving force behind thecity's tourism recovery from the spread of COVID-19 was young people aged 18 to 35, who made up 48% of the total number of tourists who visited Sanya.The development program of the duty free stores, which are very popular with both Chinese and foreign tourists, also contributed to this Chinese resort's popularity.

Sanya's total tourism revenue in 2020, according to the local statistical office, exceeded 42.47 billion yuan (about $ 6.5 billion). Over the past year, over 17.1 million people visited the city. Most tourists in 2020 came from Beijing, Shanghai and the southern province of Guangdong. At the same time, the department noted, significantly more young people began to choose Sanya as a travel destination.

At the beginning of 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a significant decrease in the flow of tourists. In February alone, just in the midst of the beach season in Sanya, the tourist flow fell by 95% compared to the same period in 2019. However, the situation began to gradually return back to normal as the epidemiological situation in the country improved. Tourist flow to Sanya in 2020, according to the authorities, was able to recover to 70% of the level before the pandemic.

By 2025, the Hainan authorities have set the goal of turning the province into an "international center for tourism and consumption." The Chinese island is often referred to as the "Eastern Hawaii" — natural landscapes, tropical forests, a developed hotel chain, combined with beaches and a coastline stretching along more than 1,900 kilometers, attract guests from the most remote parts of the world. During the thirteenth five-year plan (2016-2020), Hainan received about 352 million Chinese and foreign tourists.