Island resort rolls out foreign welcome mat

Hainan will increase subsidies, intensify global promotion and provide more tourism products to attract overseas travelers, Hainan's top tourism official said on Friday.

Tourism to the southern island province has slipped two years in a row, the provincial tourism department said, with the number of foreign tourists falling 12.6 percent last year and tourists from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan dropping 6.3 percent.

Tourists from Russia - who account for the largest foreign group - declined 21.1 percent year-on-year between January and November.