Hainan to raise duty-free shopping quota to 100,000 yuan

A shopper tries on branded glasses at a duty-free shop in Sanya, Hainan province. [Photo/Xinhua]

The Chinese resort island of Hainan will raise the per capita quota for offshore duty-free shopping from the current 30,000 yuan ($4,243) to 100,000 yuan ($14,100) a year, in a move to turn the island into an international tourism consumption center, according to information released at a news conference in Beijing on Monday.

Introducing the newly-released master plan for the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port, Vice-Minister of Finance Zou Jiayi said the Hainan FTP will substantially relax the limitations on duty-free shopping.

"The quota will be raised from the current 30,000 yuan  to 100,000 yuan per person a year. Based on the current 38 categories of commodities, the categories of duty-free commodities will be further expanded, and management will be optimized to offer greater convenience to customers," she said.

The Hainan FPT plan also includes a positive list of duty-free commodities for Hainan Island residents, which means local residents in Hainan will enjoy cheaper quality imported goods in the future.

"Raising the quota is the most attractive policy for Hainan tourism," said Xie Xiangxiang, associate professor of tourism at Hainan University.

Xie suggested that Hainan introduce more value-added, duty-free goods, which, on the one hand, will attract more international brand products to enter the tropical island and on the other hand, attract more customers who favor duty-free products with greater added value to boost consumption.

He also said Hainan should build more duty-free shops to meet consumer need.