BEIJING, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- China's southern island province of Hainan recorded a surge in spending on duty-free shopping by visitors since the implementation of a new duty-free policy on July 1, according to the General Administration of Customs.
Hainan recorded 8.61 billion yuan (about 1.26 billion U.S. dollars) of duty-free spending by visitors from July 1 to September 30, a surge of 227.5 percent year on year, the administration said.
During the period, about 1.29 million tourists visited the island, up 62 percent year on year.
Cosmetics, watches and jewelry were the most popular merchandise, accounting for 73.3 percent of the total sales revenue.
Starting from July 1, Hainan has increased its annual tax-free shopping quota from 30,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan per person.
The range of duty-free goods has expanded from 38 categories to 45, with some electronic products and wines newly added to the duty-free list.
China released a master plan in early June on building Hainan into a globally influential free-trade port. Enditem
