The Department of Commerce of Hainan Province published figures on Oct. 8th showing that shopping boomed in Hainan during the China National Day Golden Week this year, with duty-free shopping, festival activities, and Hainan specialty food providing highlights. From Oct. 1th to 7th, retail sales of merchandise totaled 5.378 billion yuan, an increase of 12.51% over the same period last year.

Hainan's island departure duty-free spending has increased significantly, making duty-free shopping tours a highlight of Hainan's Free Trade Port construction. During the National Day Golden Week, Hainan island departure duty-free shopping played a major role in attracting shoppers, with perfume, cosmetics, jewelry, watches, and other duty-free goods proving popular. Island departure duty-free shopping sales reached 1.04 billion yuan from Oct. 1st to 8th this year.