Hainan to offer visa-free access to tourists from 59 countries

This aerial photo taken shows the coastal scenery of Boao Town, Hainan

China will offer greater visa-free access for tourists from 59 countries to Hainan from May 1, in a move to support reform and opening up in the country’s southernmost island province, the State Immigration Administration announced yesterday.

Under the new policy, group and individual tourists from 59 countries, including Russia, Britain, France, Germany, and the United States, can visit Hainan visa-free and stay there for up to 30 days on condition that they book their tour through travel agencies.

Hainan has offered a 15-day visa-free stay for group tourists from 21 countries since 2000, and added another five countries to the list in 2010. “By extending the policy to individuals and the stay to up to 30 days, the government aims to attract more international tourists, nurture the tourism industry and meet the needs of foreign individuals,” said the administration’s vice head Qu Yunhai.

The eased visa-free access to Hainan is part of China’s effort to build the province into “a free trade port with Chinese characteristics,” as stated in the guidelines on supporting Hainan to deepen reform and opening up, released by central authorities Saturday.

The announcement comes as the province – often billed as “China’s Hawaii” – is trying to manage a budget gap and the debt woes of HNA Group Co., its biggest conglomerate, which is facing pressure from creditors after a global acquisition spree.

Foreigners traveling in the rest of mainland China will generally need to arrange visas before arriving in the country. Hainan, which is roughly the size of Switzerland, received a package of economic policies paving the way for horse racing, sport lotteries, and expanded duty-free shopping after Chinese president Xi Jinping visited the area earlier this month. Analysts say this shift to China’s approach toward gambling could end up threatening the USD33 billion casino industry in Macau.

Separately, Hainan’s provincial finance department announced plans to establish an offshore duty-free shop in Boao, a town in the city of Qionghai. Wang Yalin, an official with the department, said Hainan’s offshore duty-free shopping policy will cover all outbound tourists including ship passengers in the future.

Currently Hainan has two duty-free shops, with one in the provincial capital Haikou and the other in the resort city of Sanya on the southern tip of the island. They target outbound passengers who leave the island by flight or train. The State Council, China’s cabinet, gave Hainan permission to run a pilot offshore duty-free program in April 2011 in an effort to make the island a world-class tourist destination.

Hainan has become a famous tropical resort for overseas tourists in recent years, with the number of overseas tourists exceeding 1.1 million in 2017, up nearly 50 percent year on year. MDT/Agencies

Countries with visa-free access to Hainan

ALBANIA;  ARGENTINA;  Australia;  Austria;  Belarus;  Belgium;  Bosnia and Herzegovina;  Brazil;  Brunei;  Bulgaria;  Canada;  Chile;  Croatia;  Cyprus;  Czech Republic;  Denmark;  Estonia;  Finland;  France;  Germany;  Greece;  Hungary;  Iceland;  Indonesia;  Ireland;  Italy;  Japan;  Kazakhstan;  Latvia;  Lithuania;  Luxembourg; Macedonia;  Malaysia; Malta; Mexico;  Monaco;  Montenegro;  Netherlands;  New Zealand;  Norway;  Philippines;  Poland;  Portugal;  Qatar;  Romania;  Russia;  Serbia;  Singapore; Slovakia; Slovenia; South Korea; Spain;  Sweden;  Switzerland; Thailand; UAE;  Ukraine; U.K.; U.S.