The first day of China's Labor Day Holiday saw a huge footfall increase at the cdf Haikou International Duty Free City. (Source: Hainan Daily)

It has been just over a year since instant tax refunds on retail purchases by overseas tourists visiting China were rolled out nationwide.

Recently released data show that, in the past year, access to the policy has gradually expanded across Hainan Province, facilitating over 26,000 transactions for shoppers from over 80 countries and regions and driving nearly CNY 60 million in sales.

341 stores and outlets in the province have introduced instant tax refunds, covering purchases in core business districts, tourist attractions, and transportation hubs, vastly increasing policy accessibility.

The simplified process, with refunds given in cash or refunded to original payment cards, continues to fuel spending among overseas tourists.

Within the province, the benefits have been reaped by visitors from 80 countries and regions to date as the scope of inbound consumption has continued to expand. 55.27% of the province's tax refunds were issued to Russian tourists, followed by those from China's Hong Kong SAR at 13.80% and Kazakhstan at 9.13%, highlighting the strong support from key source markets.

Meanwhile, the supply of applicable products continues to improve, covering categories such as clothing, shoes, bags and suitcases, leather goods, glasses, gold and silver jewelry, and mobile phones, appealing to a broad swath of international consumers.

A self-service tax refund terminal in Hainan. (Source: hinews.cn)

During this year's 6th China International Consumer Products Expo, Hainan's first self-service tax refund terminal made its debut. Combining refund applications and return functions, the terminals allow travelers to complete identity verification, document verification, and tax payment in just a few minutes, requiring no human intervention.

Hainan's Provincial Tax Service stated that it will continue to leverage tax big data for precise policy implementation, improve the outbound tax refund service system, expand policy coverage, and enhance the efficiency of tax refund processing, delivering high-quality services to stimulate inbound consumption potential.