Tourists shop at a duty-free makeup store in Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province. File Photo: Xinhua

Sales of duty free stores in South China's Hainan Province reached 46.8 billion yuan ($7.23 billion) since July 1 last year, a year-on-year increase of 226 percent. Last July, the new policy which raises per capita buying quota and expands free duty commodities category was implemented, CCTV reported on Saturday, citing data from the Haikou Customs. 

Over the past year, the duty-free sales supervised by the Haikou Customs reached 46.8 billion yuan, an increase of 226 percent year-on-year, with average daily sales hitting 128 million yuan, according to CCTV, adding that the average number of everyday consumers has hovered around 19,000, up 102 percent from last year. 

The offshore duty-free shopping quota for visitors to Hainan Province, the largest free trade port in China, jumped from 30,000 yuan ($4,634.6) to 100,000 yuan a year, with categories of duty-free commodities have been raised to 45 from the previous 38. The restriction of 8,000 yuan for a single product has been removed, and the number of categories with a single-purchase quantity limit has been reduced.

Cosmetics, watches and jewelry are the top three most popular commodities, with the sales of the three commodities accounting for 71.5 percent of the total duty-free sales.

Hainan has now nine duty-free malls, said the media report, noting that now customers are able to pick up their duty-free products through ferry stations, train stations and airports when leaving the province. 

Global Times