HAIKOU /China/, October 5. /TASS/. China’s southern island province of Hainan holds a leading position among China’s inbound tourism destinations being developed under the China Travel initiative, the Hainan Daily newspaper reported.

According to the publication, foreign tourists choose Hainan because of a combination of complementary favorable factors, rather than any particular advantage. The newspaper noted that the island has transformed from “a simple destination” to “the number one place to visit” thanks to better service quality and a large-scale modernization of the service system.

Institutional openness based on free trade port mechanisms has enabled China’s southernmost province to adopt the slogan “Travel around China, starting from Hainan” and to steadily increase a flow of tourists. According to the newspaper, the most popular type of local inbound tourism is a full beach vacation program that includes traditional Chinese medicine services. The publication cited the province’s advantages that attract foreigners from all around the world, including a magnificent climate and excellent environment, a personalized customer approach, multilingual service and culinary diversity. All of it helps visitors to relieve the stress associated with traveling abroad, immerse themselves into a cozy atmosphere and fully recharge their batteries.

According to the newspaper, Hainan receives a large flow of tourists during China’s National Day holidays from October 1 to 7. Many foreigners first arrive in the resort city of Sanya located on the island’s southern coast, where they enjoy beaches, coconut palms and sea breeze, then they travel to the city of Shenzhen in China’s southern Guangdong Province, the city of Xi’an, the capital of the Shaanxi Province in Northwestern China, Beijing, Shanghai and the city of Chengdu in the Sichuan Province in Southwestern China. After seeing a number of sights, some tourists return to Sanya to leave the country.

Thus, Hainan is becoming the starting and the final point of tourist trips across China. The newspaper cited official figures confirming the growing popularity of this trend. More than one million foreigners visited the island in the first six months, while Sanya alone welcomed 946,000 tourists from January to August, up almost 50% year-on-year.

According to the newspaper, Sanya’s inbound tourism revenues increased by around 67% year-on-year. The dynamic development of the local consumer sector has turned the city from “an ordinary link in the tourism chain” into “a starting point and key center” for foreign travelers.