People shop at a duty-free store in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, Jan. 1, 2026. China's economy kicked off 2026 with robust momentum, as evidenced by bustling economic activity in the year's first days. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)

From February 2 to 8, the first week of chunyun, known as the Spring Festival travel rush, total offshore duty-free transactions supervised by Haikou Customs in South China's Hainan Province reached 1.11 billion yuan ($159 million), up 6.3 percent month-on-month, China Media Group reported on Monday.

This year marks the first Spring Festival travel rush since the launch of island-wide special customs operations on December 18, 2025, and the figures demonstrate the strong momentum in Hainan's duty-free market, a Chinese expert said. The result is an outcome of the combined effects of policy dividends, the tourism recovery, and festive consumption, and it is expected to inject a robust performance into overall Spring Festival consumption, the expert added.

Shop visits reached 191,900, up 26 percent month-on-month, while the number of items purchased hit 895,000, up 9.4 percent, according to the report.

The report noted that driven by the emerging consumption trend of "returning home" transforming into "traveling out," duty-free shopping enthusiasm has continued to surge. In the first week of chunyun, various duty-free stores rolled out promotions such as free gifts, while significantly increasing supplies of festive-oriented products with strong Chinese New Year vibes including New Year gift items, imported chocolates, premium spirits, and limited-edition spring cosmetics.

An employee in a duty-free store at the Sanya Phoenix International Airport was quoted as saying in the report that in this first Spring Festival travel rush, the combined effects of the new offshore duty-free policies and the peak sales season have led to passenger traffic and spending power exceeding expectations.

Bian Yongzu, executive deputy editor-in-chief of Modernization of Management magazine, told the Global Times on Monday that the data reflects the strong upward trajectory seen since the launch of island-wide special customs operations. Shopper numbers achieved a double-digit surge, which vividly demonstrated the pronounced driving force from the convergence of Spring Festival holiday consumption effects and the substantial benefits of supportive policies.

To further advance the development of the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP), China's Ministry of Finance (MOF), General Administration of Customs and the State Taxation Administration jointly issued a notice last week on a "zero-tariff" policy for imported goods consumed by residents of Hainan, which took effect on the same day.

Under the policy, Hainan residents are allowed to purchase certain imported daily-use goods at designated venues under a zero-tariff arrangement. The duty-free quota is set at 10,000 yuan per person per year, with no limit on the number of purchases.

The introduction of the policy will help lower local residents' living costs, meet diversified consumer demand and allow more island residents to benefit from the outcomes of the Hainan FTP's development, the MOF noted.

Bian noted that the policy extends duty-free consumption from being exclusive to departing island visitors to becoming part of daily consumption for local residents, establishing it as a new growth pole for consumption.

"The offshore duty-free policy upgrades have greatly enhanced the accessibility and attractiveness of the Hainan Free Trade Port. This shift has repositioned Hainan beyond a mere winter escape destination, evolving it into an integrated consumption powerhouse balancing premium shopping and leisure," Bian said, adding that the duty-free sector is expected to deliver a robust impetus to Spring Festival consumption this year.