HAIKOU, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Hainan's tourism industry has significantly raised its international profile during the last five years, contributing 33.4 percent to the province's GDP, according to the annual session of the Hainan Provincial People's Congress.

The tropical province received more than 100 million tourist visits in 2025, including 1.5 million inbound visitors, up 35.2 percent year on year, according to its government work report.

The launch of island-wide special customs operations in the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) on Dec. 18, 2025, stood out as one of the most notable measures. Within its first month, key indicators such as goods circulation and traffic flow showed remarkable improvement.

In 2025, visa-free arrivals rose 64 percent year on year, the number of international navigation ships leaving and entering ports increased 19.6 percent, and offshore duty-free sales climbed 46.8 percent.

Over the last five years, tourism infrastructure and products of China's southernmost province have also seen rapid expansion. Hainan added two national-level tourist resorts and one new 5A-level scenic area.

Hainan will focus on expanding consumption tied to marine, aerospace and rainforest tourism in 2026. New measures will be introduced to further stimulate tourism spending, diversify culture, tourism and sports activities, and enhance scenic areas and related services.

Authorities also expect total domestic and international tourist visits to grow by around 8 percent in 2026, with inbound tourism seeing particularly strong gains. ■