Targets high for tourism in Hainan, but infrastructure lacking

Tourists paddle in the sea in Sanya, Hainan province, May 3.

Despite the abundance of tourist attractions in the southern island province of Hainan, including the pristine ocean, the beaches, the sunny weather, hot springs, the diverse range of flora and fauna, as well as its abundant historical heritage, the Chinese government is encountering several challenges in developing the island into a major international tourism destination, according to Guangzhou’s Time Weekly.

The magazine stated that multiple adverse factors, including a single travel route, pollution and exploitation of the environment, a backward service infrastructure, and high price levels, are putting a damper on the development of the island’s tourism industry, although the government has managed to make some inroads in its international tourism strategy for the island over the past four years.

The government relies on the international tourism industry to shore up Hainan’s economy, as the province’s per capita GDP reached only 35,491 yuan (US$5,688) in 2013, ranking 21st nationwide, which makes the Hainan provincial government’s targets for 2015 seem a little ambitious, with the island’s tourism income target set at 54 billion yuan (US$8.7 billion), as well as hopes that the share of the tertiary industry in its economy can be boosted to over 47% in terms of output value and over 45% in terms of employment in order to muscle its national income into the top half of China’s national rankings by province-level region.

In order to attain these targets, upgrading the province’s tourist industry is essential, according to the local authorities. “The constantly growing demand has overstrained the local tourism industry, as quality of service remains low,” remarked Wang Jiansheng, chairperson of the Hainan Tourist Industry Association, according to Time Weekly.

The resort city of Sanya has been spearheading the development of Hainan’s tourism industry in recent years. During the Chinese New Year holidays this year, visitors to Sanya grew 20% over a year earlier, with the share of individual tourists reached 20%.

Despite improvements in infrastructure, including transportation facilities, the influx of tourists has overstrained Sanya’s tourism industry, in terms of software capacity. There is, for instance, a serious shortage of English-speaking staffers, prompting Sanya tour operators to install multiple interpretation devices at the site.

Despite the phenomenal growth in the number of tourists, the growth of overseas tourists is relatively slow. The number of overseas tourists (excluding Taiwan) dropped 1.2% over a year earlier to 136,700 in the first quarter this year, and the number of Taiwanese visitors plunged 26.2% to 27,000, although those from Hong Kong increased 5.3% and those from Macau increased by 20.2%. The total number of tourists other than those from mainland China who stayed at least one night declined 4.7% to 191,500 in the first quarter.

During the Labor Day holiday, Sanya received 100,000 visitors, a modest growth of less than 4% over a year earlier.

Targets high for tourism in Hainan, but infrastructure lacking