International arrivals to China's southern tropical island province of Hainan have surged since the island launched special customs operations on Dec 18, 2025.
Official data showed that the island saw 186,000 entries and exits for foreigners in the first month after the new regulations went into effect, a year-on-year increase of 46 percent. Among them, some 87,000 foreign visitors entered Hainan visa-free over the past month, representing a 64 percent year-on-year increase.
Most visitors came for tourism, mainly from Russia, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, Kazakhstan, and Singapore.
The convenience of the visa-free policy is a direct boon for tourism professionals, as noted by Malaysian tour guide Liu Jiayun.
"The visa-free policy makes travel much more convenient. Hainan is already quite well known. We plan to visit Ocean Flower Island in Danzhou, then Haikou and Sanya. This is my first time here, and I brought a group of 20 Malaysian tourists," she said.
Tourists themselves are also drawn by the ease of travel and Hainan's diverse appeal, from family reunions to cultural exploration.
"I think it's quite smooth and efficient. So, I'm going to Hainan for the family trip because my husband's family is originally from Hainan. So, we want to spend some time to meet family members and I heard that the scenery here is very beautiful. I heard that also there are some big shopping malls, so we also want to do some shopping here as well. So, very exciting to explore Hainan," said Jennifer, a tourist from Singapore.
"We're looking forward to just having chats, taking the train and then going round. It's new to us and of course, Su Dongpo is very interesting for me. I study Chinese literature, since young I've been studying Chinese history and Chinese poetry and literature," said Cai Yinghui, another tourist from Singapore, referring to the prominent poet and cultural figure from China's Song Dynasty (960–1279).
Hainan has also established 29 tourism promotion offices in 18 countries and regions, as well as tourism stores in cities including Hong Kong and Jakarta.
Government plans showed that by the end of 2026, high-grade scenic spots and hotels in Hainan will have signage in five languages -- Chinese, English, Russian, Japanese, and Korean -- and 10,000 international tourism service staff will be given language training to help eliminate communication barriers.
International tourists take full advantage of visa-free access to Hainan
