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Hainan's grand plans for tourist paradise

By Ding Qingfen (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-05-19 14:55

Almost anything is always easier said than done.

That's the case in southern tropical island province of Hainan where the government and the undeveloped tourism industry have ambitious plans for turning it into the Chinese equivalent of Indonesia's Bali, Thailand's Phuket or South Korea's Jeju island.

They received the green light from Beijing in April when the State Council approved a proposal from the Hainan government to ramp up the island's efforts to become an "international-standard island resort", by allowing the local government to make changes to attract more foreign visitors.

Beijing for the first time, agreed to set up a duty-free shop in each of Hainan's four cities including the provincial capital Haikou, the well-established tourism spot Sanya, and in Qionghai and Wanning, to cater to foreigners.

It also agreed to consider expanding Hainan's unique 15-day, visa-free tourism policy approved in 2002 for 21 nations - now including the United States, Canada, Japan, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand - to five more countries. The new no-visa-needed candidates are Finland, Norway, Sweden, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

In addition to a history of preferential government treatment, Hainan does not lack natural charm. Among its attributes is yearlong warm weather, clean air (a rarity in China) a 1,528-km-long coastline and stretches of pristine white sand beaches and tropical plants, especially coconut trees, which gives Hainan confidence in aiming high.

But, gaining a global reputation requires far more than that. You need a plan and the Hainan government has a grand one.

Within five years, Hainan will be synonymous with the phrase "the oriental paradise holiday resort" in the minds of international travelers, say its promoters. By 2013, the inbound tourists are expected to exceed 1.5 million, and the yearly revenues from the tourism sector will hit $1 billion, respectively rising from $302 million in 2007.

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