Hainan to establish new offshore duty-free shop

HAIKOU - China's Hainan province plans to establish an offshore duty-free shop in Boao, a town in the city of Qionghai, according to the provincial finance department.

Wang Yalin, an official with the department, said Hainan's offshore duty-free shopping policy will cover all outbound tourists including ship passengers in the future.

The moves will further boost tourism and related industries on the popular resort island, Wang said.

Currently Hainan has two duty-free shops, with one in the provincial capital Haikou and the other in the resort city of Sanya on the southern tip of the island. They target outbound passengers who leave the island by flight or train.

The State Council, China's cabinet, gave Hainan permission to run a pilot offshore duty-free program in April 2011 in an effort to make the island a world-class tourist destination.

As of the end of March, the offshore duty-free shops in Hainan recorded more than 33.87 billion yuan ($5.3 billion) in sales and attracted more than 10 million tourists.