Sanya plans to host 263 major events in 2026

Sanya plans to host 263 major events this year, each with over 1,000 participants, which all together could attract about 1.67 million visitors and create tourism consumption of over 4.5 billion yuan ($648 million), according to statistics from a recent municipal economic work conference.

In 2025, the number of overnight international visitors to Sanya surpassed the one million mark for the first time, with total tourist spending topping 100 billion yuan.

To further expand the inbound tourism market, Sanya will focus on key markets such as Russian-speaking regions this year, launching new routes like the Sanya-Irkutsk flights.

What's more, the city will continue to strengthen its partnerships with overseas airlines, OTA platforms and travel agencies in Southeast Asia and Europe.

Additionally, Sanya will actively collaborate with the 49 overseas cultural centers and 23 overseas tourism offices of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, to coordinate joint promotions and exchange tourist resources.

Focusing on the quality improvement and upgrading of the tourism industry, Sanya will also fully stimulate new vitality in the integration of culture, sports, tourism and commerce this year and cultivate localized event brands.

The city also plans to seize key time points such as the China International Consumer Products Expo and the China International Travel Mart to conduct themed marketing, expand high-potential niche markets, integrate industry chain resources, enhance the quality of product supplies and customer loyalty and continuously stimulate cultural and tourism consumption potential.