The island-wide special customs operations in Hainan province have ignited a tourism and spending surge, which is transforming the free trade port into a new global consumption landmark.

海南省全岛实施的特殊海关运作机制引发了旅游与消费的双重增长，正推动海南自由贸易港向全球消费新地标转型。

For example, duty-free sales in Sanya exceeded 100 million yuan ($14.2 million) for five consecutive days, said the Sanya Municipal Bureau of Commerce. Specifically, duty-free sales in the city hit 102 million yuan on Monday, following a strong streak that began on Dec 18.
例如，三亚市商务局表示，三亚免税销售额已连续五天突破1亿元人民币（约合1420万美元）。具体而言，继12月18日以来的强劲走势之后，三亚周一的免税销售额达到1.02亿元。

Analysts attribute the boom to Hainan's evolving trade policies, which are enhancing its appeal as a winter getaway and shopping destination, especially with the New Year and Spring Festival holidays approaching.
分析人士将这一增长归因于海南不断优化的贸易政策，这些政策正显著提升其作为冬季度假和购物目的地的吸引力，尤其是在元旦和春节假期临近之际。

Travel bookings reflect the strong momentum. Online travel platform Qunar reported a 51 percent year-on-year increase in flight bookings to Sanya for the upcoming New Year holiday, with bookings to Haikou up 19 percent.
旅游预订数据反映出这一强劲势头。在线旅游平台去哪儿网数据显示，即将到来的元旦假期期间，飞往三亚的机票预订量同比增长51%，飞往海口的预订量增长19%。

International interest is rising sharply. International flight bookings to Haikou for the New Year period jumped over 40 percent, while Spring Festival bookings more than doubled. Travelers from Russia, Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand are leading the surge, signaling Hainan's growing resonance as a global vacation hot spot.
国际市场兴趣迅速升温。元旦期间飞往海口的国际航班预订量同比增长超过40%，春节期间的国际航班预订量更是翻倍增长。来自俄罗斯、新加坡、澳大利亚、马来西亚、韩国和泰国的游客成为主要增长来源，彰显海南作为全球度假热点的吸引力不断增强。

Dev Bagchi, an Indian businessman, told China Daily that: "We came for business purposes, but later discovered Hainan is also a tourism destination. It's fantastic. It's a very good place. I will tell everybody in India to visit here, very nice people, very nice place. The weather is very good, just like Mumbai. You know, people from India, prefer to go to Europe for their holidays and I would like to tell them to come to China and especially come to this place, Hainan."
印度商人德夫·巴格奇在接受《中国日报》采访时表示：“我们原本是因商务来到这里，后来发现海南也是一个旅游目的地。这里太棒了，是一个非常好的地方。我会告诉印度的每一个人来这里旅游，这里的人非常友好，地方也非常好。天气很好，就像孟买一样。你知道，印度人通常更喜欢去欧洲度假，而我想告诉他们，可以来中国，尤其是来这里——海南。”

Behind such a tourism and spending surge is a policy breakthrough. According to China's Ministry of Finance, the special customs operations have expanded Hainan's zero-tariff product coverage from 21 percent to 74 percent, with tariff-free items jumping from about 1,900 tariff lines to approximately 6,600.
旅游与消费热潮的背后，是一项政策性突破。根据中国财政部的数据，特殊海关运作机制已将海南零关税商品覆盖率从21%提升至74%，免税商品由约1900个税目大幅增加至约6600个。

"These measures, combined with streamlined customs clearance procedures, solidify Hainan's competitive edge as a low-cost, high-efficiency trade hub," said Gao Ruifeng, head of Haikou customs. "It becomes a key gateway for foreign goods entering the Chinese market."
海口海关关长高瑞峰表示：“这些举措与通关流程的简化相结合，进一步巩固了海南作为低成本、高效率贸易枢纽的竞争优势，使其成为境外商品进入中国市场的重要门户。”

The policy impact translated into remarkable statistics from day one. According to Haikou customs, on Dec 18, Hainan's offshore duty-free sales skyrocketed to 161 million yuan, involving 24,800 shoppers and 118,000 purchased items. These figures represented staggering year-on-year increases of 61 percent, 53 percent and 25.5 percent, respectively.
政策效应自实施首日便转化为亮眼数据。海口海关数据显示，12月18日当天，海南离岛免税销售额飙升至1.61亿元，涉及2.48万名消费者和11.8万件商品，同比分别增长61%、53%和25.5%。

The epicenter of this commercial explosion was the China Duty Free Group's Sanya International Duty Free Shopping Complex. Anchored in a deep integration of "duty-free shopping plus culture and tourism", the mall launched a grand promotional campaign for the occasion, including giving away shopping vouchers. It also specially curated an exclusive VIP salon for foreign visitors, a strategic move designed to transform abstract policy dividends into tangible, experiential benefits and to craft a diversified, immersive new shopping scenario for foreign tourists.
此次消费热潮的核心区域是中国免税集团旗下的三亚国际免税购物城。依托“免税购物＋文化旅游”的深度融合，该商场推出了大型促销活动，包括发放购物代金券，并专门为外籍游客打造了专属VIP沙龙。这一战略举措旨在将抽象的政策红利转化为可感知、可体验的实际收益，为外国游客营造多元化、沉浸式的全新消费场景。

The result was a comprehensive eruption of market vitality. Data revealed that on Dec 18, customer traffic at the complex exceeded 36,000, a surge of over 60 percent year-on-year, while sales revenue soared by an impressive 85 percent. These standout figures served as a potent testament to the vigorous kinetic energy unleashed by Hainan FTP's institutional innovation.
其结果是市场活力的全面释放。数据显示，12月18日当天，该购物城客流量超过3.6万人次，同比增长逾60%，销售额同比大幅增长85%。这些亮眼数据有力印证了海南自贸港制度创新所释放出的强劲动能。

A spokesperson from the sales department of the duty-free complex said, "To welcome this historic moment of island-wide special customs operations, we began planning and preparing three months in advance, increasing our inventory to create a high-quality shopping experience for domestic and foreign travelers."
该免税购物城销售部门的一位负责人表示：“为迎接全岛实施特殊海关运作这一历史性时刻，我们提前三个月开始策划和筹备，通过增加库存，为国内外游客打造高品质的购物体验。”

special customs operations

/ˈspeʃl ˈkʌstəmz ˌɒpəˈreɪʃənz/

特殊海关运作机制

consumption landmark

/kənˈsʌmpʃən ˈlændmɑːk/

消费地标

winter getaway

/ˈwɪntə ˈɡetəweɪ/

冬季度假目的地

tariff line

/ˈtærɪf laɪn/

税目

customs clearance

/ˈkʌstəmz ˈklɪərəns/

海关通关

offshore duty-free

/ˈɒfʃɔː ˈdjuːti friː/

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