Hainan has seen a surge in offshore duty-free shopping, and accumulated sales revenue from the stores in Haikou and Sanya, since the policy began on April 20, 2011, had reached 8.9 billion yuan by July of this year.

Since the offshore duty-free program was put into place in April 2011, the Sanya Duty-free shop has proven a huge success. The number of visitors jumped from 2.59 million in 2011 to 3.42 million in 2013.

Benefitting from the offshore duty-free policy, the island province has seen a boom in tourism. In 2013, tourism revenue in Hainan reached 22.996 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.3%.

In September, the world's largest duty-free shopping centre will open its doors in Haitang Bay. The centre will be more luxurious and include more top brands than any other duty-free shop in the country.