The tropical island of Hainan is setting its sights further afield as the trend of "buying globally in Hainan" takes hold among consumers. A newly released plan, covering the 2026-2030 period, outlines the region's ambition to transform into a world-class tourism and consumption destination.
According to the plan, unveiled at a press conference on August 13th, Hainan expects to welcome 154 million domestic and international tourists annually by the end of the 2026-2030 period. It also targets over 120 inbound passenger air routes and a top-three global ranking for competitive island tourism destinations, excluding archipelago nations. The head of Hainan's tourism department stated that the strategy is anchored to a long-term goal for 2035, focusing on three key dimensions: international appeal, tourism, and consumption. This approach will be measured through various indicators designed to highlight the core features of Hainan as an international tourism consumption center.
Enhancing Three Key Consumption Areas
To stimulate the economic vitality of a "tourism plus" model, the plan specifies that Hainan will integrate tourism with sectors such as commerce, healthcare, and education. This is intended to optimize three major consumption areas. In the realm of duty-free shopping, Hainan will strive for more open and convenient offshore duty-free policies, creating a supply system that combines offshore duty-free, daily necessities tax-free for island residents, and cross-border e-commerce. The goal is to upgrade the "Shop in Hainan" concept to a "Shop Globally" experience. For specialized healthcare, the region will promote a "Traditional Chinese Medicine plus international medical services" model, building a "Come to Hainan, Enjoy Health" brand. In the international education sector, Hainan will deepen a collaborative model of cross-border learning, subject integration, interdisciplinary exchanges, credit recognition, course selection, and shared management, continuously strengthening the "Study in Hainan" brand.
Reshaping "Land, Sea, and Air" Consumption Scenarios
To welcome visitors from all over, Hainan is moving from "beauty in one spot" to "beauty across the entire region." It is focusing on building five high-quality tourism destinations, including a hub for international fashion trends, a destination for marine culture and tourism, a practice area for integrated mountain-sea tourism, a location for unique functional tourism, and a deep-experience site for tourism technology. The tourism official noted that Hainan will actively develop the "four firsts" economy—first stores, first releases, first shows, and first exhibitions—and cultivate local brands featuring national trends and intangible cultural heritage souvenirs. Leveraging the China International Consumer Products Expo as a leading platform, the region will create a series of influential national-level exhibitions to boost the capacity of international MICE tourism consumption. For marine tourism, Hainan plans to build 3 surfing bases, 5 diving bases, 7 sea fishing bases, and 20 public natural sandy beaches, transforming the vast ocean into accessible new consumption scenes. Technology will also enhance the landscape. Relying on its unique "five-direction development" industrial chain, Hainan will focus on developing technology tourism sectors such as space, deep-sea, seed, and digital industries. This includes building a space science education base, establishing the Hainan Space Museum and the Wenchang Space Tourism Center, exploring deep-sea sightseeing and research, and developing new applications like virtual travel companions and digital cultural creations, converting scientific achievements into new tourism scenarios.
Optimizing the Dual-Core, Six-Zone Layout
The tourism consumption map is undergoing a structural reshuffle. The plan emphasizes strengthening the "dual-core" engines of Haikou and Sanya. Haikou will deepen its "tourism plus performing arts" model, accelerating its development into an "International Capital of Performing Arts" and a regional convention and exhibition center. Sanya will leverage its position as an international tourism gateway, focusing on high-end duty-free shopping, first-release economy, and the cruise and yacht industry, aiming to become the "Asia-Pacific Yacht Capital" and a top destination for inbound tourism. At the same time, Hainan will optimize the features of six special zones. These include the Danzhou zone for culture, sports, and entertainment; the Bo'ao zone in Qionghai for medical tourism; the Lingshui Li'an zone for international education; the Wanning zone for sports; the Wenchang zone for space tourism; and the tropical rainforest zone for ethnic cultural tourism. This will foster a new tourism consumption pattern where each zone has a unique characteristic and brand identity.
Good scenarios require a good environment. The plan calls for improving the comprehensive service system and strengthening the supervision of the tourism consumption market order. During peak seasons, core business offerings will be refined, while off-peak periods will feature "Cool Island" themed products. Services will be enhanced with multilingual support, information consultation, and foreign currency exchange. The tourism official extended an invitation to domestic and international market players and professional institutions to seize the opportunity, invest in Hainan, and share in the benefits of building the international tourism consumption center. He also welcomed tourists from all over to enjoy their travels in Hainan.