Duty-free shops, FTP, luxury boom make Hainan irresistible

I have visited Hainan province many times for either leisure travel or work. On every occasion, I made it a point to visit the local duty-free shopping malls. Such is the allure of their lower prices (relative to other Chinese mainland cities) that I invariably end up buying something or another. Else, I'd be overcome with a sense of loss.

A confession like that comes without the fear of being perceived as a shopaholic as I know for certain I'm not alone in this context. Many others, especially young female consumers, have admitted that Hainan's duty-free shops are irresistible.

This trend has spurred the vitality of the offshore duty-free shopping business in Hainan, which has become a golden signboard of local tourism consumption. Affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the market experienced a slight downturn in 2022. But, since then, it has seen a rapid recovery after China optimized its pandemic response measures in late 2022.