Sanya duty-free sales boom in 1st week of new policy

Consumers shop at a duty-free store in Sanya. [Photo/Sanya Daily]

Since the new Hainan offshore duty-free policy was implemented on Nov 1, first-week sales have been impressive. Haikou Customs reported that during the first week, duty-free sales totaled 506 million yuan ($70.3 million), up 34.86 percent year-on-year, with 72,900 shoppers, an increase of 3.37 percent.

Sanya led the growth with sales of 279 million yuan, surging 41.11 percent from a year earlier. Newly added categories including pet supplies, portable musical instruments, small household appliances, and electronic consumer goods have attracted market attention, selling 1,488 items in the first week, with a shopping amount of 2.75 million yuan.

The policy now allows both travelers departing the island and those bound for international destinations to make duty-free purchases, which count toward their 100,000-yuan annual quota without purchase limits. The "instant pickup" option for island residents attracted 138 shoppers in the first week, who bought 403 items worth 356,100 yuan.

To support the new policy, Haikou Customs has implemented the "bonded-to-duty-free conversion" business model, creating a flexible channel for the conversion between bonded and duty-free goods. It has also adopted a "centralized and automated processing" document review mode, achieving "immediate declaration and release upon arrival" for duty-free goods, which effectively enhances customs clearance efficiency and reduces operational costs for enterprises.