Hainan's offshore duty-free sales up 17.9% to $3 billion in first 7 months

(ECNS) -- Offshore duty-free sales in south China's Hainan Province totaled 21.6 billion yuan (about $3 billion) in the first seven months of 2026, up 17.9% year on year, according to data released by Haikou Customs on Wednesday.

The number of shoppers reached 3.111 million, up 11.9%, and 17.653 million items were purchased, up 6.9%, the data showed.

The 27th Hainan Island Carnival was held across the province from July 18 to August 2. During the carnival, major shopping districts, scenic spots and duty-free shops in Hainan rolled out night markets and themed pop-up events, with several concerts by well-known singers held simultaneously.

To capitalize on the influx of visitors, several duty-free shops in Sanya launched exclusive benefits during the concert periods, including free shuttle buses, special discounts, fan-exclusive coupons and branded blind box gifts. These initiatives created new consumption scenarios that integrated live experiences with the broader "culture + tourism + duty-free" ecosystem.

With the deepening of Hainan's Free Trade Port operations and the continued expansion of international flight routes, a growing number of overseas tourists have joined the shopping boom. The "Sanya-Prague" route is China's first passenger route operating under Seventh Freedom of the Air rights.

Since its launch last December, the route has been in stable operation for more than six months.

Anna, a traveler from the Czech Republic, purchased a beauty gift set and Chinese tea at the Sanya International Duty Free Shopping Complex. She said it is hard to find such a wide variety of products in the Czech Republic, and the prices are also more affordable than in Europe.

"With more students traveling to and from Hainan during the summer break, we have timely added products popular among students, such as cosmetics, luggage and electronics, and launched various promotions to improve their shopping satisfaction," said Zhong Shihua, a sales manager at the Global Premium (Haikou) Duty Free City.

(By Tang Yuxian)