HAIKOU /China/, Aug. 27. /TASS/. Authorities in the resort city of Sanya on the southern coast of Hainan Island are making efforts to shift the local tourism industry from traditional to a new, more efficient international consumer model. According to experts interviewed by the Hainan Daily newspaper, China's southernmost province "has become a rare example" in the development of the relevant sector.
"Sanya is moving from a traditional form of tourism to its international consumer model," the publication quotes Xi Jianchao, an expert from the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. "It is extremely rare to see so many prestigious hotels <...> and large shopping malls like Sanya's international duty-free complex concentrated in one place."
As one of the investors in Sanya's central business district interviewed by the newspaper pointed out, the city "has great potential for industry modernization and is capable of rapidly developing new sectors." According to the businessman, as economic diversification continues to expand, local tourism "is no longer the predominant growth factor, with the increasingly important role of modern services and advanced technology."
Increasingly complex forms of cross-industry interaction are creating many new jobs in Sanya, according to experts. This makes it possible to attract a large number of qualified specialists. As a result, as noted, the city's population over the past 10 years has increased by about 50%.
According to the Chinese Communist Party's decision, Sanya's modernized tourism sector is to become an important driving force that will accelerate the development of the province and allow "a new milestone in the formation of the Hainan Free Trade Port.
Sanya is China's leading resort, home to more than 1 million people. In 2021, its gross product reached 83.5 billion yuan (about $13.2 billion), an increase of 12.1%. The city has an average annual temperature of 25.4 degrees Celsius and a coastline of more than 200 kilometers. There are 19 bays and about 40 islands suitable for recreation in the surrounding waters, all of which enable the local government to successfully develop yacht tourism and beach holidays.