HAIKOU /China/, September 17. /TASS/. The Chinese resort city of Sanya (southern Hainan Province) has joined the top ten destinations for international tourists in the country in the rating prepared by Tripadvisor for 2024, Sanya Daily reported.
The list was unveiled at the International Tourism Conference in the city of Tianjin on September 13, organized by Tripadvisor and Ctrip, the largest online travel agency in China. It was noted at the event that the tourist zone in the Yalong Bay area was recognized as one of the ten most popular resorts among inbound tourists to China.
According to the paper, Sanya's popularity is growing due to its developed tourism infrastructure and high level of service in the service industry. In recent years, Hainan authorities have been constantly improving inbound tourism regulations, including improving the work of the visa-free regime for foreigners.
Starting February 9 this year, visitors from countries such as Russia, France, the United States, Brazil, Japan and the United Arab Emirates have been able to enter Hainan without a visa for purposes other than tourism. The immigration authorities now allow residents of these countries to enter the province without a visa for family visits, medical treatment, exhibitions, sporting events and business purposes. Previously, Hainan had a visa-free policy for overseas tourist groups from 59 countries.
Foreign tourists will be able to take advantage of high-end hotels in Sanya, and the staff will be able to provide all kinds of assistance in different languages, including Russian and English, the newspaper wrote. The city's signposts marking tourist attractions are also translated into various world languages. There is also a tourist hotline, 12345, whose operators can provide advice in English, Korean, Russian and Japanese 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
In response to the growth of tourist traffic, Sanya is also actively expanding the geography of its overseas air routes. To date, a total of 22 overseas routes have been opened or restored. The Taiyuan-Sanya-Singapore route is scheduled to start on September 24.
By 2025, Hainan aims to become an "international tourism and consumption center". The Chinese island is often referred to as "Eastern Hawaii", its natural landscapes, tropical forests, a developed network of hotels combined with beaches and a coastline of more than 1.9 thousand kilometers attract guests from the most remote parts of the world.