Duty-free sales in China’s Hainan province hit record high during Lunar New Year holiday | Reuters

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In China’s Hainan province, duty-free sales during the Chinese New Year long holiday (10th to 17th) reached a record high of 2.49 billion yuan ($346.2 million). The photo was taken in January 2023 in Hainan Province, China. (2024 Reuters/Alessandro Diviggiano/File Photo)

[上海 １９日 ロイター] – In China’s Hainan province, duty-free sales during the Chinese New Year long holiday (10th to 17th) reached a record high of 2.49 billion yuan ($346.2 million). This was revealed using customs data from Haikou, the capital of the province.

60% increase compared to the previous year. More than 297,000 people shopped during the holidays, and each person spent an average of 8,358 yuan on duty-free items.

Starting in 2020, the purchase limit for duty-free items at 12 duty-free shopping malls in Hainan province will be tripled to 100,000 yuan. Sales of duty-free goods soared from about $2 billion in 2019 to $6.1 billion in 2023.

In China, many people choose nearby destinations due to flight restrictions, delays in visa issuance, and high travel costs even after borders reopen due to the lifting of new coronavirus restrictions. Hainan province, where you can buy it, remains popular.

French luxury brand giants LVMH (LVMH.PA), opens new tab, Kering (PRTP.PA), opens new tab, and others are operating in the province. According to data released by China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism on the 18th, domestic tourism revenue during the long holiday period increased 47.3% from the previous year to 632.7 billion yuan ($87.96 billion). The ministry does not disclose tourism spending per trip, but Reuters calculated that it averaged 1,335 yuan, down 9.5% from 1,475 yuan in 2019.See more

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Casey has reported on China’s consumer culture from her base in Shanghai for more than a decade, covering what Chinese consumers are buying, and the broader social and economic trends driving those consumption trends. The Australian-born journalist has lived in China since 2007.