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China Tourism, awaiting Hong Kong IPO, touts Hainan duty-free haven for tourist dollars in rivalry with Okinawa, Jeju

  • China Tourism looks to Hainan’s offshore duty-free zone to capture domestic tourist dollars, which is expected to reach US$46.5 billion a year by 2025
  • The world’s largest travel retailer’s multibillion-dollar IPO is pending approval and may come as early as this quarter

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Domestic tourists shop at a duty-free mall in Haikou, in southern China’s Hainan province. Photo: Xinhua
China Tourism Group Duty Free, the world’s largest travel retailer by sales, is hoping to capture a slice of the growing multibillion-dollar spending by Chinese consumers in the offshore tax-free shopping zone on Hainan island.
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China Tourism filed its listing application with the Hong Kong stock exchange in June, and aimed to make its debut this quarter, people familiar with the matter said. The application is still awaiting approval of the Hong Kong stock exchange’s listing committee.

With government policies directed at boosting Hainan’s offshore duty-free sector, China’s southernmost province is developing into a shopping destination, with retail revenues forecast to grow to US$46.5 billion by 2025. This will help Hainan compete with Okinawa in Japan and Jeju in South Korea, the only other islands in Asia with similar offshore duty-free markets, analysts said.
The Sanya International Duty-Free Shopping Complex in Sanya, Hainan province. Photo: Xinhua
The Sanya International Duty-Free Shopping Complex in Sanya, Hainan province. Photo: Xinhua

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