This year's New Year's Day is the first small holiday for Hainan Free Trade Port after its closure operation. During the New Year holiday, the popularity of duty-free shopping on outlying islands in Sanya, Haikou and other places continued to rise, with an increase in foot traffic in duty-free shops and a gathering of people in front of popular counters. Visitors from all directions are stimulating the consumer market. According to data from Qunar Travel, the increase in flight tickets to Haikou and Sanya during the New Year period was the highest in the country, and the occupancy of hotels near multiple duty-free shops increased by more than double year-on-year. According to statistics from Haikou Customs, on January 2, 2026, Haikou Customs supervised 159000 tax-free sales on Hainan's outlying islands, a year-on-year increase of 70.6%; 33000 shoppers, a year-on-year increase of 77.6%; The shopping amount was 254 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 156.6%. In addition to out of town tourists, local consumers have also become a new force that cannot be underestimated. After the adjustment of Hainan's offshore tax exemption policy on November 1st last year, residents on the island who have offshore records within a calendar year can purchase 15 types of "buy and pick up" goods without limit throughout the year. Major duty-free shops have launched a series of activities targeting "islanders" to effectively activate local consumption potential. Wang Ren'an, the sales manager of China Duty Free Haikou International Duty Free City, introduced that the city has launched exclusive activities such as the "Pioneer Islander Plan" and comprehensively optimized the supply of goods, providing "buy and pick up" Islander combination packages and discounts to accurately meet the high-frequency consumption needs of local customers. The trend of tax-free consumption extending from the "tourist group" to the "living circle" is obvious. Ms. Zheng, a resident of Haikou, said that she used to have the opportunity to purchase duty-free goods only when traveling or traveling outside the island. Nowadays, shopping in duty-free shops is as convenient as shopping in ordinary shopping malls. She took advantage of the New Year holiday when there were many promotional activities and government issued consumption vouchers to come and purchase goods. In response to tax-free shopping for residents on the island, the Department of Commerce of Hainan Province has also released the "Hainan Free Trade Hong Kong Island Residents' Consumption 'Zero Tariff' Imported Goods Business Entities and Duty Free Stores Management Measures (Trial)" for public consultation. The policy will be accelerated to further enable local consumers to enjoy the benefits of tax-free shopping. Outbound tourists have also become a new growth point for duty-free shopping and consumption on outlying islands. Since the implementation of the new tax exemption policy for offshore islands in Hainan, Haikou Customs has supervised the purchase of offshore duty-free goods by outbound travelers exceeding 21 million yuan. The reporter saw the presence of foreign tourists everywhere in the duty-free shops of China Duty Free Haikou International Duty Free City and Haikou Riyue Square. In response to the increasing number of international tourists, the service desk of China Duty Free Haikou International Duty Free City is equipped with translation machines to ensure barrier free communication and shopping for tourists. The person in charge of the sales department of Sanya International Duty Free City introduced that professional shopping guides are provided here for foreign tourists to ensure smooth shopping and communication. Combined with duty-free shop promotions, we have created rich and convenient shopping scenes for departing travelers, which has boosted their enthusiasm for consumption. (New Society)