The Hainan Island Departure Duty-Free Shopping Market was red hot during the recent Dragon Boat Festival holiday, with a total of 34,000 shoppers (up 8.6% year-on-year) spending 202 million yuan (up 11.2%) to purchase 159,000 duty-free items (up 1.9%).

During the holiday, major duty-free shopping centers such as Haikou International Duty-Free City and the Sanya Phoenix Airport Duty-Free Shop were bustling with eager shoppers. Families and groups of friends and relatives were the main consumers, with high-end skincare products and smart digital products in high demand. Mr. Chen, a traveler from Hunan, said, "If you are spending the Dragon Boat Festival holiday in Hainan, you have to take advantage of the duty-free shopping. There's a wide selection, good prices, and you can pick up your purchases immediately, which is very convenient."

To make shopping in Hainan even more convenient, there are now two different ‘instant pickup’ duty-free shopping policies for products at different price points, significantly shortening the time from payment to pickup. The ‘immediate pickup with deposit’ policy for departing passengers mainly applies to high-end duty-free goods priced over 50,000 RMB, such as luxury watches and jewelry. Travelers can pick up their purchases immediately after paying the full price and a deposit equivalent to import duties. Upon departure, verification is completed at the customs checkpoint in the airport's restricted area, and the deposit is refunded instantly. This verification process can now be completed in as little as three minutes. Mr. Zhang, from Sichuan, experienced this convenience firsthand after purchasing a watch in Sanya. He was initially worried about a cumbersome verification process, but in reality it took less than three minutes, which he described as "very efficient."

Meanwhile, the ‘purchase and pick up immediately’ policy, implemented for all departing passengers since April 2023, allows direct pickup of designated goods priced under 20,000 RMB, without requiring physical customs verification upon departure. In November 2025, the policy was further relaxed: Hainan Island residents who have left Hainan within one calendar year from the date of purchase are eligible to buy duty-free products classified as daily necessities under the ‘buy and pick up immediately’ policy,with no limit on the number of shopping trips. Mr. Fu and his family, who live in Hainan, have a strong sense of this: "Daily necessities like baby formula and diapers can be bought at the duty-free shop anytime, which is much more convenient."

To cope with the peak holiday travel season, duty-free shops made advance preparations, launching promotional activities such as discount coupons and gifts accompanying purchases of a certain amount. Popular products such as cosmetics and luxury goods were quickly restocked, and the number of service staff increased in order to ensure efficient and orderly product tests and checkout. Haikou Customs simultaneously strengthened holiday security, optimized duty-free product distribution and allocation processes, increased the frequency of store inspections, and promptly responded to traveler needs in order to provide ‘zero-delay’ supervision and services, ensuring a seamless shopping experience from selection to departure.

Hainan’s Island Departure Duty-Free Shopping Policy applies to travelers aged 18 and above departing Hainan Island for destinations in mainland China as well as domestic and international travelers (including Hainan residents) departing China on direct flights from Hainan. The annual duty-free shopping limit for each traveler departing Hainan is RMB 100,000, and purchases made by travelers departing China are also included in this RMB 100,000 limit. There are 47 categories of eligible products, including cosmetics, bags, electronics, and alcoholic beverages.

Convenient measures such as ‘immediate pickup with deposit’ and ‘purchase and immediate pickup’ make Hainan Island Departure Duty-Free shopping a fun and easy experience for international travelers and Hainan residents alike.