Hainan duty-free sales reach 358m yuan in first three days of holiday
Version 2: New Sanya-level figures from Sanya Customs, growth rates for the city, and background on Hainan's island-resident zero-tariff policy and its 10,000 yuan annual allowance were added to the earlier Hainan-wide customs totals.
In short
Haikou Customs reported 358 million yuan of offshore duty-free shopping in Hainan in the first three days of the 2026 National Day holiday, October 1 to 3, with 55,100 shopping visits and 277,000 items, up 8.85%, 12.90% and 8.02% respectively from a year earlier. China News Service, citing a Sanya Customs official, said Sanya alone accounted for nearly 240 million yuan in those three days, with more than 30,000 shoppers, up 13.6% and 11.2%. The documents do not reconcile the provincial and Sanya figures.
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Haikou Customs monitored 358 million yuan of offshore duty-free shopping in Hainan during the first three days of the 2026 National Day holiday, from October 1 to 3, according to figures carried by CLS, Jiemian, 36Kr, IT Home and China News Service. The same statistics put the number of shopping visits at 55,100 and the number of duty-free items purchased at 277,000. Customs said value rose 8.85%, visits 12.90% and items 8.02% compared with the same period in 2025. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
Sanya accounted for part of that total. Huang Jing, deputy head of the duty-free goods supervision section at Sanya Customs, said on October 4 that customs supervised nearly 240 million yuan of duty-free sales in the city in the first three days of the holiday, from more than 30,000 shoppers, up 13.6% and 11.2% respectively year on year, China News Service reported. The documents do not reconcile the provincial total with the Sanya subtotal or break the remaining sales down by city. [ 6 ]
IT Home's report placed the holiday sales alongside a separate policy. Hainan's free trade port zero-tariff policy for island residents' purchases of imported consumer goods took effect on February 5, 2026, and the first five duty-free stores opened on February 11 in Haikou, Sanya and Danzhou, with sales concentrated in food and beverages, mother-and-baby products and daily chemicals, the outlet said. Chinese citizens holding a Hainan ID card, residence permit or social security card, and foreigners working and living in the province, can shop at the consumer goods duty-free stores with a cumulative annual allowance of 10,000 yuan per person and no limit on purchase frequency, taking the goods away on the spot after checking them, according to IT Home. [ 5 ]
In Sanya, the cdf Sanya International Duty-Free Mall's sales department deputy director Qin Yuxue said the holiday coincided with the mall's 12th anniversary, with several brands opening their first Hainan stores, new digital products launched alongside official releases, and events including a drone light show and a theatre premiere, China News Service reported. The article quoted a Chengdu shopper, Huang Xiaoke, who said visiting duty-free stores is a must on each of her trips to Sanya, and a Shanghai shopper, He Jia, who said government consumption vouchers, mall holiday events and brand discounts combined to cut a cosmetics purchase to 70% of the brand's official online price. [ 6 ]
Sanya Customs said it rolled out measures for the holiday, including smart document review, remote video inspection, an optimised appointment-based customs clearance system and a 24-hour business consultation hotline, with simple questions answered immediately and complex ones answered the same day, according to China News Service. [ 6 ]
Why it matters
Offshore duty-free sales are a closely watched gauge of holiday consumer spending in Hainan, and the reported figures cover only the first three days of the holiday. IT Home's article notes that a separate zero-tariff policy for island residents' purchases of imported goods took effect in February 2026, broadening the duty-free channel beyond departing visitors.
Key facts
- Haikou Customs monitored 358 million yuan of Hainan offshore duty-free shopping from October 1 to 3, 2026. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
- Customs recorded 55,100 shopping visits and 277,000 duty-free items purchased in that period. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
- The three figures were up 8.85%, 12.90% and 8.02% respectively from the same period in 2025, according to the customs statistics. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
- Sanya Customs official Huang Jing said Sanya's duty-free sales in the same three days were nearly 240 million yuan, with more than 30,000 shoppers, up 13.6% and 11.2% respectively. [ 6 ]
- A zero-tariff policy for island residents' purchases of imported consumer goods took effect on February 5, 2026, and the first five duty-free stores opened on February 11 in Haikou, Sanya and Danzhou. [ 5 ]
- Eligible shoppers have a cumulative annual duty-free allowance of 10,000 yuan per person with no limit on the number of purchases, and can take the goods away on the spot, according to IT Home. [ 5 ]
- Sanya Customs said it introduced measures for the holiday including appointment-based customs clearance and a 24-hour business consultation hotline. [ 6 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Haikou Customs statistics show Hainan offshore duty-free shopping of 358 million yuan in the first three days of the 2026 National Day holiday, with 55,100 shopping visits and 277,000 items, up 8.85%, 12.90% and 8.02% from the same period in 2025. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
- Sanya Customs official Huang Jing said Sanya's duty-free sales in the first three days of the holiday were nearly 240 million yuan from more than 30,000 shoppers, up 13.6% and 11.2% year on year, according to China News Service. [ 6 ]
Still unclear
- How the Hainan-wide three-day total breaks down between Sanya and other cities. The provincial total is reported by Haikou Customs and the Sanya subtotal by Sanya Customs, and no document explains how the two sets of figures relate.
- Whether sales growth continued for the remainder of the National Day holiday. Every figure in the documents covers October 1 to 3 only; no outlet reports the rest of the holiday.
- How much of the holiday duty-free spending came through the island-resident zero-tariff channel rather than the standard offshore duty-free channel. IT Home describes the zero-tariff policy and quota but does not link them to the holiday sales figures, and no other document mentions the policy.
- Why Sanya's reported sales growth of 13.6% exceeded the Hainan-wide figure of 8.85%. No document explains the difference between the Sanya growth rates and the Hainan-wide growth rates.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- October 4: CLS publishes the Haikou Customs figures for October 1-3. [ 1 ]
- October 4: Yicai publishes a headline saying Hainan duty-free shopping exceeded 350 million yuan in the holiday's first three days. [ 2 ]
- October 4: Jiemian publishes the same customs figures, citing CCTV News. [ 3 ]
- October 4: 36Kr publishes the customs figures, citing CCTV News. [ 4 ]
- October 4: IT Home publishes the figures along with background on the island-resident zero-tariff policy. [ 5 ]
- October 5: China News Service publishes its Sanya story, quoting Sanya Customs official Huang Jing, who was interviewed on October 4. [ 6 ]
- October 5: China News Service publishes a Haikou-datelined story with the provincial figures released by Haikou Customs on October 4. [ 7 ]