Millions of domestic tourists are descending on China's southernmost island province of Hainan, presenting a surreal contrast with grim hospital scenes, shuttered restaurants and stifling home quarantine elsewhere in a virus-ravaged world.
Known at home as the "Hawaii of China," the island, about the size of Taiwan, has been free of coronavirus for six months, drawing eager shoppers to duty-free malls, couples seeking a sub-tropical backdrop for wedding pictures, and surfers just looking to "breathe freely."
According to official data, October arrivals of Hainan reached 9.6 million, exceeding the year-earlier figure, before the pandemic struck, by 3.1 percent. That was a far cry from February, when arrivals had dropped almost 90 percent.
The rapid surge in tourism shows China's consumer sector may be throwing off its virus-induced slumber as the closure of many international borders pushes travelers to destinations such as Hainan, traditionally costlier than most of Southeast Asia.
Tourists racing through the Haitang Bay Duty Free Shopping Center in the island's city of Sanya were astonished at the queues outside the boutiques of luxury brands from Chanel to Gucci, with some likening the scene to a yard sale.
Although the 46 million visitors Hainan received from January to October were well below the 2019 figure of 83 million domestic and foreign tourists, Chinese travelers are set to extend the tourism boom into the winter.
Hainan is also the travel destinations for the Lunar New Year coming up in February, says analytics firm ForwardKeys.
On a beach stretch studded with five-star hotels along Yalong Bay, dozens of newlyweds prepared for elaborate wedding shoots.
Source: Reuters