Sanya's Haitang Bay becomes world-class coastal tourist destination

Located in the northeast of Haitang district of Sanya in South China's Hainan province, the Haitang Bay Resort has undergone a remarkable transformation, evolving from an unknown coastal bay into a globally renowned tourist destination.

In 2022, it was designated as a provincial-level tourism resort.

The resort, which has a total planned area of 11.83 square kilometers, has consistently aimed to become a world-class tourism destination. Emphasizing the development of high-end tourism facilities and services and a focus on international tourism consumption, it has gradually established itself as a comprehensive tourism resort centered around a cluster of international brand hotels, combining duty-free shopping, themed attractions, and wellness tourism.

It boasts a top-tier coastal hotel cluster featuring iconic properties like Atlantis Sanya, Crowne Plaza Sanya Haitian Bay Resort and The Sanya Edition, offering over 8,000 high-quality rooms with a yearly 70 percent occupancy rate on average.

By strategically planning functional zones, the resort has created diverse business sectors including international shopping, a dining hub, and a wellness tourism center. These initiatives not only enrich the tourism products on offer but also drive the integration of tourism with related industries, unlocking consumption potential.

Furthermore, leisure and sightseeing projects such as the 14.5-km Haitang River Eco Park and the 10-km coastal green corridor aim to seamlessly blend natural resources with tourism, establishing a diversified tourism landscape that combines eco-tourism with leisure vacations, delivering economic, social, and ecological benefits.

In 2024, Haitang district welcomed a total of 20.78 million visitors, with tourism-related enterprises generating revenue of 20.4 billion yuan ($2.8 billion). The Haitang Bay Tourism Resort alone catered to 9.22 million visitors, accounting for 44.3 percent of the district's total visitors and generating 19.5 billion yuan in revenue, representing 95.6 percent of the district's tourism income. 

Steel structure capping is completed at the hotel project of Sanya International Duty Free Complex. [Photo/Sanya Daily]