The amount is higher, the variety is more, and the restrictions are less … duty-free shopping Hainan scenery is better.

　　On July 1, customers were shopping for plush toys in Haikou Riyue Square Duty Free Shop. Photo by Kang Denglin (People’s Vision)

　　Core reading

　　From July 1st, Hainan’s duty-free shopping policy for outlying islands ushered in a major adjustment. In addition to increasing the duty-free shopping quota for outlying island passengers to 100,000 yuan per person per year, and canceling the duty-free quota of 8,000 yuan for a single product, the number of products restricted by a single purchase has also been greatly reduced.

　　The adjustment of the new policy will fully release the policy dividend of Hainan as the first free trade port in China. In addition, around the tourist experience, Hainan will further improve the consumption and tourism market, and constantly explore for building an international tourism consumption center.

　　On July 1st, the new policy of duty-free shopping in Hainan’s outlying islands was officially implemented on the occasion of the full moon of the promulgation of the Overall Plan for the Construction of Hainan Free Trade Port. This adjustment is regarded as the biggest adjustment since the implementation of this policy, whether it is the substantial increase in the amount of duty-free shopping, the cancellation of the restrictions on the number of times of shopping, the restrictions on the amount of duty-free items for single items, and the substantial reduction in the types of goods limited by the number of purchases at one time.

　　What new changes can the adjustment of duty-free shopping policy on outlying islands bring to Hainan tourism? At the moment when Hainan is building a free trade port, the tax exemption policy for outlying islands has been implemented for nearly 10 years. What new opportunities can it bring to the construction of an international tourism consumption center? The reporter conducted an interview.

　　Small excitement: If it is inconvenient to go abroad, I will come to buy buy to buy it.

　　For some people who like shopping abroad, it is inconvenient to go abroad during the epidemic prevention and control period, so shopping in Hainan has become the first choice.

　　Xiao Meng, a citizen of Guangzhou, flew to Haikou in the early morning of July 1, which was aimed at the newly adjusted duty-free shopping policy for outlying islands.

　　In the duty-free shop located in Haikou Riyue Square, a high-end watch with a price of 17,000 yuan needs to be taxed at a rate of 50% for the part that exceeded the limit of 8,000 yuan. "Under the new policy, you can buy it for 17,000 yuan, saving more than 4,000 yuan, and the ticket money from Guangzhou to Haikou is earned back." Xiao Meng said happily.

　　At 14: 00 on July 1, the reporter went to the duty-free shop in Riyue Square, Haikou. Despite the hot weather, the citizens and tourists who came to shop were enthusiastic. The most lively counters are electronic goods counters such as mobile phones and tablet computers. A staff member of a popular brand counter told the reporter that due to the fear of a rush to buy today, the store specially put a reminder on the counter that "mobile phone products are limited to one per person at a time" when stocking.

　　"The annual shopping quota per person has been raised from 30,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan, and the restrictions on shopping times have been relaxed. This policy adjustment will undoubtedly make the market a little excited." Cao Ying, director of the Supervision Department of Hainan Free Trade Office, said.

　　In fact, such a little excitement has already appeared at the beginning of this year. On February 20th, duty-free shops in Hainan resumed business. The next day, the e-commerce sales of Sanya International Duty Free City reached 44.28 million yuan, setting a record for one-day e-commerce sales. In May, sales of duty-free goods in Hainan reached 1.977 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 147.9%.

　　"Adjusting the duty-free shopping policy for outlying islands can promote the quality and efficiency of Hainan’s tourism, from eating, living and traveling to shopping and entertainment, and attract consumption abroad to return." Liu Feng, director of China Characteristic Free Trade Port Research Center of Hainan Normal University, analyzed.

　　Intensity: the tax-free limit of 8000 yuan for a single commodity is cancelled.

　　In addition to the annual duty-free shopping quota of 100,000 yuan, the most striking of the relaxation measures is the cancellation of the duty-free quota of 8,000 yuan for a single commodity.

　　Statistics show that the number of shoppers in Hainan’s tax-free year increased from 483,600 in 2011 to 3.84 million in 2019, and the annual sales increased steadily from 986 million yuan in 2011 to 13.6 billion yuan in 2019. In 2019, the number and amount of duty-free goods sold in Hainan Island reached record highs, with year-on-year growth exceeding 30%. Hainan’s foreign trade import and export was 90.59 billion yuan, up 6.8% year-on-year, and consumer goods became the number one imported commodity in Hainan.

　　"For tourists to Sanya, 7 out of 10 people will go to Sanya International Duty Free City ‘ Punch in ’ 。” Su Yi, deputy general manager of Sanya Duty Free Shop, China Duty Free Goods (Group) Co., Ltd., said that this ratio fully shows that duty-free shopping on outlying islands has boosted tourism. As the only company franchising duty-free shopping on outlying islands, China Free Group ranks fourth in the global industry from 12th seven years ago.

　　However, if we compare Japan and South Korea, there is still a clear gap in Hainan. According to the data, in 2019, the duty-free consumption of Korean tourists to China was as high as 105.8 billion yuan, of which the consumption of ordinary tourists was 37 billion yuan. "The sales of Hainan Island tax exemption of more than 10 billion yuan a year is actually not high." Su Yi believes that the attraction of duty-free shopping on outlying islands to most tourists has not yet reached "coming to Hainan for the purpose of duty-free shopping".

　　Liu Feng suggested that we can increase the number of duty-free shopping spots in urban areas and use information technology to achieve flexible and effective control, from the current "management of people and goods" to "management of people regardless of goods" and "supervision in advance" to "supervision after the event" to provide a more convenient and humanized shopping experience.

　　According to Cao Ying, at present, Hainan is striving to introduce cross-border e-commerce as the first step, and gradually expand from online shopping to offline stores. At present, cross-border e-commerce can operate more than 1,000 kinds of goods, which basically cover the daily needs of residents.

　　Make up the shortcomings: tourism supporting facilities still need to be improved

　　Faced with the problems that some domestic tourists have reflected that Hainan’s tourism experience is not cost-effective, and prices and accommodation consumption experience need to be improved, Liu Feng believes that "in terms of consumption environment, there is still a big gap between Hainan and some developed tourist areas. But this is a systematic project, and Hainan is stepping up its efforts to make up for shortcomings. "

　　"In the past, many tourists complained about Sanya Hotel’s ‘ High-priced room ’ . In fact, chain brand hotels adopt a global unified pricing strategy. Compared with Southeast Asia, our overall house prices are not much different, mainly because our high comprehensive prices lead to higher travel expenses, and seasonal changes are obvious, and prices change greatly. " Tang Sixi, researcher of Sanya Tourism Bureau, said.

　　In Liu Feng’s view, the adjustment of duty-free shopping policy on outlying islands is only a breakthrough to promote Hainan to build an international tourism consumption center. "Whether the international tourism consumption center can be built depends on how Hainan’s own business environment and tourism consumption environment are built."

　　At present, the Haikou International Duty Free City project with a total investment of more than 10 billion yuan is being accelerated. After completion, the total area is 200,000 square meters, which is three times that of Sanya International Duty Free City. It is a landmark project of Hainan International Tourism Consumption Center.

　　Zhou Ting, president of VIP Research Institute, believes that the implementation of tax exemption policy for outlying islands is very important for the construction of Hainan International Tourism Island. As the first free trade port in China, Hainan can try to open up to a greater extent and form a high-quality consumer goods market to attract tourists to spend in Hainan. At the same time, all kinds of entertainment and leisure activities and services on the island should be fully developed in order to truly become an international tourism consumption center.