Footprints in the sand and money in your wallet

Hainan province is famous for its beautiful beaches and dutyfree shopping. [Photo By Liu Zhihua / China Daily]

Hainan also plans to expand duty-free shopping zones, improve international transport and stage more tourism activities, a local government report says. The government is now working on hosting a global luxury conference to Sanya next year that is expected to draw in more brands to the island.

Meanwhile, the new Boao Airport, designed to handle 480,000 passengers a year by 2020, opened last month.

Airports at Haikou and Sanya will also be expanded this year, and another will be built in Danzhou in the next three years, the local government report says.

"We will put on new international flights at the new Boao airport," Wang says.

There are now direct flights to Hainan from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou and Shenzhen in Guangdong province.

This year more flights to and from Hong Kong and Singapore have been introduced, he says.

The trans-island high-speed rail has made things easier for travelers to move around Hainan, especially to enjoy the port and industry tours that are being promoted.

The Sanya government is also talking with Uber, the car sharing app developer, about the possibility of working together. Many foreigners are used to Uber, and the introduction of its software will make getting around Hainan easier, Li says.

Government officials have also been working to make tax rebates more attractive for international travelers. Because Hainan has very few international flight connections, few international travelers are eligible to claim tax rebates because few leave the country from Hainan.

Wang has proposed that international air travelers who have bought duty-free goods in Hainan be eligible for tax rebates if they leave the country from Shanghai or Beijing.

"That policy might come into force fairly soon," Wang says.

Improved infrastructure has helped the island appeal to a growing number of conventions and exhibition attendees. The island now has 68 five-star hotels, says Li Xuefeng, deputy director of the convention and exhibition bureau with the provincial commerce department.

"They are mostly along the coastline and tropic forests, making them ideal for such visitors."

Last year, conventions and exhibition tourists made 2.8 million visits to Hainan, up 13 percent year on year.

"The first and fourth quarters are the most popular seasons for such guests," Li says.

During my short stay at Dadonghai beach, many foreigners were sunbathing or in the water, a clear indication that the effort to draw international travelers to the island is already paying off.