China's Free Trade Port: Hainan offers visa-free access to tourists from 59 countries

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02:11

Starting today, tourists from dozens of countries can now visit Hainan province in the south of China without getting a visa in advance. It's part of efforts to turn the island into a free trade port. CGTN's Ge Yunfei has more.

Visiting China's southernmost province is now easier than ever. From May 1, individual tourists from 59 countries can take advantage of a 30-day visa-free entry to this tropical island. But they can't just turn up at the airport.

TIAN HUIFENG, DEPUTY DIRECTOR MEILAN EXIT & ENTRY IMMIGRATION INSPECTION OFFICE "Tourists must submit their declaration information through a local Hainan travel agency 24 hours before their trip. And if they want to leave Hainan for other places in China during the trip, they will have to apply for a new visa."

The eased visa-free access to Hainan is part of China's effort to develop the province into a free trade port.

GE YUNFEI HAIKOU, HAINAN PROVINCE "In 2016, over 60 million people visited Hainan Province but only 750,000 of them were from overseas. While aiming to attract more foreign visitors, this new visa-waiver policy is also a challenge to Hainan's hospitality capacity."

Last year, foreign visitors increased by more than 50% to just over a million. Meilan Airport in the provincial capital Haikou is the largest international airport on the island. But the airport's vice president, Han Aimin, says it only has direct air routes to 8 of the 59 countries on the visa-free list.

HAN AIMIN, VICE PRESIDENT MEILAN AIRPORT "We just opened two new air routes, one to Moscow and one to Surabaya in Indonesia. The Hainan government aims to open 100 new international air routes by 2020. Meilan Airport will open 12 of them by the end of this year."

Added to that, a surge in the number of tourists requires more infrastructure.

HAN AIMIN, VICE PRESIDENT MEILAN AIRPORT "To accommodate more passengers, we're building a new 300-thousand-square-meter terminal with a new runway that can serve the world's biggest passenger planes."

To improve its service for foreign tourists, Han said the aiport will offer multi-language assistance and improve the English guiding system. Ge Yunfei, CGTN, Haikou in Hainan province.