The southern Chinese island province of Hainan saw a surge in international visitors in 2024, with the expansion of visa-free entry policies drawing in more overseas tourists who were keen to enjoy the tropical setting and experience traditional Chinese medical treatments.
Data from the Hainan Border Inspection department showed international tourists made over one million entry-exit trips in 2024, accounting for 47.5 percent of the total number of visits to the island.
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Meanwhile, the number of visa-free entries throughout the year reached 380,000, up by a staggering 283 percent over the previous year, according to the data. This came after the introduction of new policies last February, which allowed eligible travelers from 59 countries to enter Hainan for up to 30 days.
The visa-free expansion has seen a huge boom in the number of Russian visitors heading to Hainan, with many keen to enjoy a relaxing break with their family and friends.
"We come here with my family, my mother, sister and niece. We are going to spend a week here on vacation. We have a visa-free entry here, which is very cool," said Tatiana, a Russian tourist.
To accommodate the rise in international travelers at entry and exit ports, local authorities have upgraded infrastructure, more than doubled the number of inspection channels, and opened 44 fast entry-exit channels. They also implemented biometric information collection and intelligent measures to provide a more convenient and efficient clearance experience.
Meanwhile, Hainan has also expanded its air route network, with three major airports on the island opening up 70 international passenger routes, connecting 40 cities across Asia, the Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe.
Beyond its tropical coastal scenery and ethnic cultural heritage, wellness tourism is increasingly proving a big attraction for those looking to visit Hainan.
In the popular resort city of Sanya, a group of tourists from Kazakhstan practiced the movements of the Chinese martial art of eight-trigrams boxing atop a mountain platform at the Nanshan tourist site, and were greatly impressed with the health benefits brought by these associated shoulder and neck exercises.
"I generally have a bad spine, but now after these exercises, the lightness [of my body] is incredible. It's cool," said one of the tourists.
Amid this influx of overseas tourists, local travel agencies have designed a series of tailored tourism products to meet the needs of newcomers and more frequent visitors to the island, providing them with a range of services such as acupuncture and massages.
In addition, Sanya City is also taking steps to further develop its tourism sector as it hopes to expand its domestic and international market reach, including enticing more visitors who may make the journey from the Chinese mainland.
"We see a great opportunity to link with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in tourism. We can have tourists entering from Guangdong and exiting from Hainan or we can have tourists entering from Hainan and exiting from Guangdong," said Ye Jialin, director of the Sanya Tourism Development Bureau.
China's southern resort island of Hainan embraces influx of int'l tourists
