The Hainan Free Trade Port in southern China has shown its potential for international conferencing and incentives having organised a major series of events for the Chinese Spring Festival and Lunar New Year, centred on cultural heritage.
A 300-event programme included activities such as Hainan Opera spear tricks, Lantern Festival flower exchange, carp lantern spring festival celebration, Qionghai Nanzhong dragon dance, Sanya Phoenix Island Carnival, and a display of Li brocade craftsmanship. Visitors to Hainan were also able to taste delicacies such as zhegu tea, coconut rice, and brown sugar rice cakes, as well as experience great beaches, island driving routes, or a choice of 72 packages based on ethnic culture and cuisine.
Since the end of last year, China’s 144-hour visa-free transit policy has been extended to 240 hours, and two ports of entry have been added in Hainan, allowing international guests to enter and exit the island via any of its three international airports (Haikou Meilan, Sanya Phoenix, and Qionghai Boao).
According to the Hainan Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, TV, and Sports, the three major airports now offer 70 international and regional passenger routes connecting Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, the Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Hong Kong, Macao, and beyond. New routes include from Hainan to the United States, the UAE, and New Zealand.
