Haikou International Duty Free Shopping Complex celebrates the Spring Festival with dragon dance performances and a variety of consumption boosting incentives. [Photo courtesy of CDFG]

The 12 offshore duty-free shops in Hainan, China's island province, recorded 3.16 billion yuan in total sales during the Spring Festival holiday, according to the Hainan Provincial Department of Commerce. This translates to nearly 400 million yuan per day, marking a 7.15% increase in per-day sales compared to the same period last year.

The eight-day holiday, which ran from Feb. 10-17, brought a surge of tourists to Hainan, propelling duty-free sales to 2.56 billion yuan and pushing the total number of duty-free items sold to 2.07 million.

This boom reflects the rapid growth of Hainan's duty-free industry, fueled by its appeal to tourists seeking luxury goods at tax-free prices. New delivery options like "guaranteed pick-up" and "buy and pick-up" further enhance the customer experience.

China Duty Free Group Co. Ltd. (CDFG), a major player in the industry, saw a surge in vistors at its Haikou International Duty Free Shopping Complex and Sanya International Duty Free Shopping Complex. Haikou received over 360,000 visitors during the holiday, a 9.8% increase from last year, while Sanya received more than 60,000 visitors per day, a year-on-year increase of 40.4%.

"We offered incentives like gifts for check-in, free items with purchases and cashback deals," said Ye Rong, the marketing director of Sanya Downtown Offshore Duty-Free Store. "Many popular brands were in high demand. The customs service was efficient and ensured that the high-demand products were available."