HAIKOU, October 4. /TASS/. The total sales of duty free products on Hainan on the first day of the seven-day weekend on the occasion of the Foundation of the PRC (celebrated on October 1 — TASS) amounted to 171 million yuan (about $ 26.7 million), which is 122% higher than for the same period in 2020, reported the Haikou customs, according to the "Hainan Daily".
A pilot program for the development of a chain of duty free stores on Hainan was launched by the Chinese government in 2011. Since July 1, 2020, the island's authorities have increased a personal quota from 30,000 to 100,000 yuan (from $ 4,200 to $ 14,200) for purchases in the province's duty free shops. The range of duty free products has also been expanded from 38 to 45.
The Chinese authorities see this program as an important part of the project to create a free trade port on Hainan. Sales of goods at Hainan's duty free shops in the first six months of 2021 amounted to 26.76 billion yuan (about $ 4.1 billion). This is 257.2% higher than the figure for January-June 2020.
This year, two new duty free stores were opened in Haikou. Prior to that, there were seven shops on the island: two of them are located in the administrative center of Hainan, Haikou, the rest — in the resort city of Sanya in the south and in the coastal town of Boao in the Qionghai region in the northeast of the island. In June 2022, another major duty free shopping center in Haikou will start operating.