Tourists experience surfing in the waters of Houhai Village in Sanya, South China's Hainan Province on January 17, 2026. Photo: VCG

The Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) received 773,000 inbound overnight tourists in December, an increase of 59.5 percent year-on-year, with the inbound tourism market comprehensively surpassing pre-pandemic levels, as the institutional opening-up advantages brought about by the FTP's special customs operation quickly transformed into strong momentum for attracting global tourists, a local official said on Monday.

Li Haigang, deputy head of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports of Hainan Province, made the remarks at a press conference covering the FTP's special customs operations that started on December 18, CCTV News reported on Monday.

The structure of inbound tourism source markets to the Hainan FTP has been continuously optimized, and a diversified pattern is gradually taking shape, Li said. Traditional source markets such as Russia and Southeast Asia have maintained steady growth, while long-haul markets such as Europe, the US, Australia, and New Zealand have also performed strongly. 

In December, the number of tourists from the UK grew by 56 percent year-on-year, along with increases of 83 percent from France, 144 percent from Italy, 62 percent from Spain and 52 percent from Australia. This indicates that Hainan's popularity and attractiveness are being increasingly recognized by visitors from a broader range of countries, the official said.

Tourism consumption patterns are being upgraded at a faster pace, with the characteristics of in-depth vacations becoming increasingly prominent, he said. Inbound tourism consumption has risen in tandem, reaching $141.4 million in December, a year-on-year increase of 63 percent. 

Off-island duty-free shopping remains popular, with categories such as cosmetics and high-quality domestic products being highly favored, and the focus of consumption is shifting from single shopping to in-depth experiences.

The length of stay for inbound tourists has significantly increased, with the average number of nights per person rising from 3.37 in 2024 to 3.96 this year, making the characteristics of in-depth vacations even more prominent. This reflects the growing appeal and comprehensive competitiveness of Hainan's high-quality vacation tourism, Li said.

Li also noted that during the first month of the island-wide independent customs operations, Hainan's inbound tourism market showed positive changes in terms of scale, structure, and quality, achieving a solid start.

Amid the surge in inbound tourism, a total of 5,132 new foreign trade enterprises completed registration in Hainan over the past month, a one-month increase roughly equivalent to the total registrations in an entire quarter during 2024, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs on Sunday.

Italian enterprise Hainan Zambon Pharmaceutical Co told the Global Times that it views Hainan as a key strategic hub in deepening its presence in the Chinese market. Hainan's institutional innovation, cross-border facilitation, and international business environment provide an important platform for integrating global resources and serving patients in China, the company said.

"China's continued high-level opening-up, including the full removal of foreign investment restrictions in manufacturing, sends a clear and positive signal to foreign investors. We have seen improvements in regulatory transparency, policy stability, and government support for foreign-invested enterprises. Overall, China's business environment has become more mature and predictable, which is conducive to long-term development," it said.