HAIKOU, September 11. /TASS/. The southern Chinese province of Hainan is actively expanding its number of international air routes, attracting an increasing number of foreign tourists, Hainan Ribao reported.
According to the newspaper, statistics from the first half of this year confirm this trend. From January to July, Hainan welcomed 761,600 tourists who stayed on the island for at least one night, which is a 31.5% increase compared to the same period last year. Of those, 645,100 were foreign tourists. The annual growth rate for this indicator was 31.2%.
The growth in the flow of tourists from abroad is facilitated by the active development of international air traffic in Hainan. To date, 72 international air routes have been launched in the province, and new destinations are being developed. The newspaper emphasized that convenient transport links are a key prerequisite for developing tourism. According to Hainan Ribao, news of the growth of inbound tourism in Hainan over the past two years has always been accompanied by reports of a high increase in foreign flights.
New flights launched this year include Haikou-London, Lanzhou-Haikou-Singapore, Haikou-Tokyo, Haikou-Jeddah, Sanya-Bangkok-Frankfurt, Sanya-Jinan-Seoul, Sanya-Kazan, and Sanya-St. Petersburg. According to the newspaper, local authorities are working to open new flights to South Korea and plan to launch flights from Madrid to Haikou in October.
Tourist requests
Experts note that there is currently a shift in tourist demand from general tourism to more specific and targeted types of tourism. For instance, tourists from Southeast Asia enjoy sightseeing, unique souvenirs, and cuisine, while Russian tourists prefer coastal vacations and wellness treatments incorporating traditional Chinese medicine. Meanwhile, many European and American tourists prefer upscale coastal entertainment and folk cultural events, while Korean tourists prefer golf.
Hainan Ribao cited Sanya Shengda International Travel Service as an example of a successful tourism business. The company works with markets in Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and a number of other countries. The company receives about 26 charter flights per week, bringing in approximately 19,000 tourists. The company believes this influx is due not only to the continuous improvement of the tourism industry in Hainan but also to the province's positive reputation among tourists. In addition to Russia, Central Asian countries have also become new growth points. For example, in the first half of this year, Hainan received over 40,000 tourists from Kazakhstan, which is 41.1% more than in the same period in 2024.
Hainan, a Chinese island often referred to as the “Hawaii of the East,” attracts visitors from the most remote corners of the world with its natural landscapes, tropical forests, well-developed hotel network, beaches, and 1,900-kilometer coastline.