Offshore duty-free shopping thrives in Sanya

Consumers shop at Sanya International Duty Free Complex. [Photo/Sanya Daily]

Offshore duty-free sales in Sanya, Hainan province reached 66.6 billion yuan ($10 billion) from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2022, a year-on-year increase of 248 percent, accounting for about 70 percent of the province's total, according to Sanya Customs.

In addition, the number of shopping tourists in Sanya during the past two years exceeded 7.3 million, a year-on-year increase of 96 percent, while 125 million commodities were sold, up 383 percent.

This can be attributed to Hainan's favorable duty-free policy. The duty-free shopping policy was updated and implemented in July 2020. In addition to increasing the annual duty-free shopping quota in Hainan from 30,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan per person incrementally each year, the policy also expanded the number of categories of duty-free goods from 38 to 45. The 8,000-yuan duty-free cap for a single item was also canceled.

The delivery methods of "delivery by mail" and "pick up of duty-free purchases by returning Hainan travellers" are important measures to serve the implementation of the new offshore duty-free policy. Sanya duty-free enterprises have completed 5.4 billion yuan worth of delivery of duty-free goods to offshore tourists, while the pick-up service of duty-free goods for returning Hainan travelers amounted to about 340 million yuan.