HAIKOU — At the Sanya International Duty Free Shopping Complex in South China's island province of Hainan, customers stood in a long line behind a checkout counter. Anton, a tourist from Belarus, was shopping with his family and soon picked out the iPhone 17 he wanted.

"This phone is much cheaper here than in Belarus," Anton said. It was his second vacation trip to Hainan. "It's freezing cold in Belarus right now, unlike the warm winter in Hainan, so we came here for a holiday."

In the depths of winter, Hainan has entered its peak tourist season. For many visitors, duty-free shopping has become an indispensable part of their itinerary. Especially since the Hainan Free Trade Port officially launched island-wide special customs operations on Dec 18, duty-free shopping has been exceptionally booming, highlighting the strong vitality and huge potential of Hainan as an international tourism and consumption center.

The duty-free consumption boom stems not only from the soaring popularity brought by the special customs operations, but also from the concentrated release of policy dividends.

To better meet the diverse needs of tourists, Hainan's duty-free policy was adjusted again on Nov 1. The categories of duty-free goods increased from 45 to 47, and the beneficiary range was expanded to include outbound travelers, attracting more international tourists to duty-free shopping.

"This shopping center is amazing. There are many things I want to buy and the price is cheap," said a tourist from Russia, adding that the duty-free store had a lot of international brands, many of which are hard to find in her country.

In addition, the new duty-free policy has significantly lowered the purchase threshold for local residents. Under the policy, local residents with a departure record can purchase up to 15 "pick-up" items at any time of the year, which has also boosted shopping enthusiasm.

At a duty-free store in Haikou, bapital of Hainan, Pan Meishi, a local resident who had left the island a week ago, was wandering around the cosmetics area.

"In the past, local residents could only buy duty-free products when leaving the island, but now shopping is much more convenient. Visiting a duty-free store is just like going to an ordinary mall," she said.

According to Haikou customs, from Dec 18 to Jan 17, the duty-free sales supervised by customs reached 4.86 billion yuan ($697.9 million), up 46.8 percent year-on-year, and the number of shoppers rose 30.2 percent year-on-year to 745,000, showing sustained strong consumption vitality.

Since the implementation of the new duty-free policy, especially after the special customs operations of the Hainan FTP, the Sanya International Duty Free Shopping Complex has seen a steady rise in both average daily sales and passenger flow.

Liu Kun, deputy general manager of China Tourism Group, said: "Duty-free shopping is a core pillar for the construction of the Hainan international tourism and consumption center. It plays an irreplaceable role in gathering global consumption resources, attracting international customers and upgrading consumption levels."

The booming duty-free consumption is just a microcosm of the construction of the Hainan international tourism and consumption center.

Latest official data show that in 2025, Hainan received 106 million tourist visits, up 9.1 percent year-on-year, and total tourist spending reached 225.4 billion yuan, up 10.5 percent year-on-year. Among them, the number of visits by inbound overnight tourists surpassed 1.5 million, surging 35.2 percent year-on-year.

According to an official implementation plan, China aims to build Hainan into a globally influential tourism and consumption destination by 2035.