Visiting Hainan—the southernmost province of China—a young Malaysian tourist taking an overseas holiday this May expressed his positive opinions of the island. Taken during China's May Day Golden Week (International Worker's Day holiday), his first stop was the capital city of Haikou. "I went to see the parade in the historic downtown, on the Qilou Old Street, and also went to the Leiqiong Volcanic Cluster Global Geopark. Both places were great." As the visa-free policies of the Hainan FTP continue to expand,  Hainan's inbound international tourists continue to see a significant increase.

The popular online travel agency CTrip reports that the province's inbound travel orders have increased by 68% year on year. Using the holiday period as a marker for clearer data comparison, the May Day holiday had an 87% year-on-year increase in inbound tourism. As with domestic visitors, the most popular tourist attractions are Wuzhizhou Island, Nanshan Cultural Tourism Area, Fenjiezhou Island, Hainan Provincial Museum, and West Island.

International tourists sunbathe at the Dadonghai tourist area in Sanya. Photo courtesy of Sanya Tourism Group

International tourists visit Nanwan Monkey Island. Photo courtesy of Nanwan Monkey Island

As inbound tourism continues to heat up,  crowds of tourists from around the world are arriving in droves. The convenience of entry to and travel on Hainan Island is an important reason, but it's not the only one. Nowadays, Hainan is offering a richer variety of fresh experiences that break away from traditional sightseeing paradigms. This includes off-the-beaten-track exploration in search of unique scenery such as can be found in the National Rainforest Park, the slow pace of life among locals, and exotic food. As a result, some of Hainan's niche destinations, special experiences, and local specialties are becoming popular choices for their itineraries.

Making no secret of her love for traditional Chinese medicine after visiting the Sanya Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital to experience the therapeutic options available there, a Russian tourist positively gushed: "Next time my relatives and friends come to Hainan to travel, I hope they can also try it."

International tourists enjoy "sunbathing "in Sanya's Dadonghai tourist area. Photo courtesy of Sanya Tourism Group

International tourists go boating in Sanya Bay. Photo courtesy of Hainan Provincial Tourism and Culture Department

Visa-free entry has become the preferred way for international visitors to enter Hainan. At present more than 80% of foreigners coming to Hainan do sounder this policy. At the beginning of February this year, further optimization and adjustment by the National Immigration Bureau of the island's visa-free entry policy now means that people from 59 countries (including Russia, Britain, and France) may use the policy for non-tourism related short-term purposes such as business, interviews, family visits, medical treatment, exhibitions, and sports competitions.  Since this new policy came into effect a little over two months ago, over 50,000 people have taken advantage of it to enter Hainan.

The gradual resumption of international routes is also an important driving force behind the growth in numbers. Hainan not only continues to resume and restore overseas flight routes, it is also adding new ones. As of now, there are a total of 48 overseas routes in operation. Data from Customs and Immigration shows that over 95% of the visitors taking advantage of the visa-free policies are from the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Russia, and Thailand.

As more government benefits for international visitors come into effect and travel facilitation measures continue to progress, it is predicted that inbound tourism will continue to show an upward trend.