Staff members work at a desk in a shopping mall that advertises the rebate in Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province, Dec. 27, 2010. Overseas tourists can from next year claim tax refunds of 11 percent of their purchases from certain shopping malls in Hainan Province when leaving China there, a local official said Monday. The rebate covers clothing, shoes, hats, cosmetics, clocks and watches, jewelry, electronics, stationery, sports goods, medical instruments and furniture. [Xinhua/Guo Cheng]

Overseas tourists can from next year claim tax refunds of 11 percent of their purchases from certain shopping malls in south China's Hainan Province when leaving China there, a local official said Monday.

The minimum purchase a tourist made at a shop within a day is 800 yuan (121 U.S. dollars), said Lu Yong, vice director of the Hainan Provincial Department of Finance.

Hainan is the first region nationwide to pilot the scheme.

"The rebate scheme aimed at boosting overseas tourist arrivals and spending so to build Hainan into an international tourist island," Lu told a press briefing.

Foreign tourists or citizens from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan can get a rebate on consumer goods purchased no more than 90 days before they depart by air.

The rebate covers clothing, shoes, hats, cosmetics, clocks and watches, jewelry, electronics, stationery, sports goods, medical instruments and furniture.

Food, beverages, fruits, tobacco, alcohol, motor vehicles and motor cycles are not included.

The goods should be in an unused condition to get the rebate.

Lu did not give the number of eligible shopping malls. But he said that some reputable malls were putting up Chinese and English signs advertising the rebate.

The rebate scheme is expected to increase the share of shopping in tourism expenditure from the current 20 percent to 40 percent, said Wang Keqiang, deputy director of the provincial commerce department.

Zheng Jianxin, deputy director of the taxation department under the Ministry of Finance, said the rebate scheme will help to improve Hainan's reputation as an international tourist destination.