High-speed link means fast future for tourism destination

BEIJING - Hainan Island at the country's southern tip is likely to be linked to the mainland's high-speed rail network via a cross-sea connection that may be started by 2015, Hainan Governor Luo Baoming said on Monday.

The link across Qiongzhou Strait would bring more tourists to the tropical island, which has ambitions of becoming an international travel destination, he said.

The province now relies on airlines and ferries to transport tourists but Hainan's two airports - in Haikou and Sanya - are already operating at capacity. They handled 9 million tourists last year but were designed to handle 3 million.