Hainan's inbound tourism has seen steady growth in the first half year of 2019 due to the island province's visa-free policies, dense international flight schedule, diverse tourism products, and innovative marketing methods.

Convenient transportation is undoubtedly an important advantage that Hainan has to attract foreign tourists. On Feb 1, Sanya's direct flight to Bangkok, Thailand was opened and on Feb 28, the direct flight route between Haikou and Osaka, Japan was opened.

Hainan province has achieved full air route coverage of the important tourist markets in neighboring countries and regions. According to the Hainan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, the province's air route network covered Japan, South Korea, Russia, Southeast Asian countries, the United Kingdom, and Australia, forming an international tourism circle that can be reached within four hours, eight hours, and 12 hours.

At the beginning of July this year, on the basis of the current visa exemption policy for 59 countries, Hainan further increased its opening up by introducing 12 new measures concerning immigration, entry and exit, as well as traffic management, which effectively promoted inbound tourism. 

At the same time, Hainan province has also been accelerating the innovation of tourism products, as well as improving the quality of its tourism service, attracting more inbound tourists to explore the island province and China. 

In addition to the traditional tourism industry, the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) industries also experienced a great boost in Hainan. The Ixina Global Dealer Conference was held in Sanya in May, marking the first European meeting group with 200 members hosted by CTS Sanya since the travel agency began operation. 

After a comprehensive inspection of Sanya's urban construction, hotels, meeting facilities, as well as its tourism attraction and catering industries, the president of Ixina finally decided to host the conference in Sanya, according to Wang Yang, general manager assistant of CTS Sanya.

Officers at a Sanya border checkpoint help foreign tourists complete their clearance procedures. [Photo/Hainan Daily] 

A growing number of international tourists have chosen Hainan and fallen in love with the island due to the global exposure of Hainan in the international tourism market.

According to officials from the Hainan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, Hainan organized 16 promotion events to help local tourism "go global" at tourism expos held overseas. It also engaged in increasing global exposure of Hainan's marine resources, healthcare industry, culture and sports, exhibitions, beautiful villages, special tourism products, as well as its intangible cultural heritages and other cultural products to fully present Hainan to the world.