During the 2026 Spring Festival holiday, Hainan’s island-departure duty-free sector ushered in a strong start to the Year of the Horse, enjoying robust sales figure increases and sustained consumer enthusiasm.

According to figures released by Haikou Customs, between February 15 to 23, the dates of this year's Spring Festival holiday, duty-free sales totaled RMB 2.72 billion (approximately USD 382 million), marking a year-on-year increase of 30.8 percent compared with the 2025 Spring Festival period. Over the nine-day holiday, 1.997 million items were sold, up 21.9 percent year-on-year, while the total number of shoppers reached 325,000, a 35.4 percent increase.

On a daily basis, sales averaged RMB 303 million (approximately USD 42.6 million), representing a 16.5 percent increase over last year’s figures. The average daily number of shoppers totaled 36,000, up 20 percent year-on-year, while average daily sales totaled 222,000 items, an 8.3 percent increase.

The steady rise across all key indicators highlights both the vitality of Hainan’s consumer market and the continued appeal of Hainan’s island-departure duty-free policy.

On February 23, staff members from Sanya Customs conducted on-site inspections at Sanya International Duty-Free City to ensure smooth operations and safeguard travelers’ access to island-departure duty-free promotions during the holiday peak.

At Haikou International Duty-Free Complex, festive decorations featuring zodiac-themed elements created a vibrant Spring Festival atmosphere. Red lanterns and New Year installations attracted visitors to pose for photos before heading inside. The mall was filled with steady streams of shoppers browsing skincare and cosmetics products, jewelry and watches, electronics, and other duty-free goods. Popular brand counters saw long queues as holiday shoppers eagerly selected gifts.

Ms. Du, visiting from Northeast China with her family, carefully picked out New Year presents. “Health supplements for our parents and some new toys for the kids — duty-free shopping makes our Spring Festival purchases affordable, and these gifts will bring us respect,” she said.

In the domestic products section of Sanya’s HTDF Supermall, ceramics and apparel incorporating Chinese cultural elements attracted international consumers. Pavel, from Russia, held up a flowered porcelain tea set he had just purchased. “I love this tea set. It’s so distinctly Chinese. This will be our first Spring Festival with Chinese porcelain at home. It means more than any souvenir,” he said.

Retailers prepared well in advance for the anticipated surge in demand. A representative from the Haikou International Duty-Free Complex said the mall began stocking up three months ahead of the holiday and launched coordinated online and in-store promotional campaigns. Both sales and foot traffic increased significantly during the festival period.

At Sanya International Duty-Free City, Ms. Gao, a sales associate in the fragrance and cosmetics section, said that customer numbers had already risen noticeably two weeks before the festival, with Year of the Horse themed limited-edition products proving particularly popular.

To ensure smooth operations during the peak shopping season, Sanya Customs implemented dedicated staffing arrangements, accelerated document review procedures, and expedited clearance for first-release and best-selling products. Round-the-clock customs clearance and allocation services significantly improved logistics turnover efficiency, ensuring travelers could purchase desired goods without delay.

With the official launch of special customs operations at the Hainan Free Trade Port, Hainan has entered a new stage of opening-up. Recent adjustments to the island-departure duty-free policy now allow both travelers departing just the island as well as those leaving China entirely to enjoy duty-free shopping benefits. Domestic goods such as ceramics and tea are also eligible for sale under the island-departure duty-free framework. The combined effect of these measures has created new channels for domestic brands and traditional Chinese culture to reach global markets.

On the Eve of the Chinese New Year, it took Mr. Liu, returning from a business trip to Shenzhen, just five minutes to collect his purchases at a designated pickup point for returning island residents. “I thought I would have to wait in a long line. Instead, it was incredibly smooth — I even made it home in time to watch the Spring Festival Gala with my parents,” he said.

During the holiday, Haikou Customs leveraged smart supervision system to monitor real-time passenger flows, inventory best-selling goods, and check queue conditions at pickup points across the province’s twelve island-departure duty-free stores. Regulatory resources were dynamically allocated to enhance efficiency throughout the entire supervision chain, providing travelers with a seamless, high-quality shopping experience.

Blending international brands with the warmth of a Chinese New Year, Hainan’s island-departure duty-free market once again demonstrated a distinctive appeal, injecting fresh consumer momentum into the development of the Hainan Free Trade Port and creating memorable holiday experiences for visitors from across China and beyond.