(Yicai) Jan. 19 -- China's southernmost Hainan province saw duty-free sales soar 47 percent in the first month after starting island-wide independent customs operations under the Hainan Free Trade Port, with an additional boost from government subsidies and store discounts.

Duty-free shopping in Hainan topped CNY4.9 billion (USD700 million) from Dec. 18, when the entire island was closed to customs operations, to Jan. 17, according to data released by Haikou Customs yesterday. The number of shoppers jumped 30 percent to 745,000 from a year earlier, while that of goods purchased rose 15 percent to 3.49 million.

Traveling to Hainan does not require any additional procedure after the customs closure, which, coupled with the benefits of duty-free shopping and the first quarter traditionally being the peak travel season, has led many tourists to the province, with multiple flights and hotels fully reserved, Yicai found.

For ordinary consumers, the biggest motivation to visit Hainan after the customs closure is shopping. The "zero tariff" policy in the province has expanded to about 6,600 items, accounting for about 74 percent of all product categories, up from 21 percent before the closure.

Electronics, gold jewelry, and cosmetics are the three best-selling categories, with many products having additional discounts on top of their duty-free prices, Yicai found at several duty-free stores in Sanya and Haikou.

For example, the price of the luxury set of SK-II skincare masks at the Sanya Hainan Tourism Duty-Free Shopping City has dropped to CNY1,599 from CNY2,366 (USD229 from USD339) after duty-free pricing and additional discounts. In addition, the concentrated essence of La Mer costs CNY2,651, down from CNY4,418.

After applying duty-free benefits and additional discounts, iPhone prices in Hainan drop by CNY500 to CNY1,000 (USD71.80 to USD143.60) compared with other Chinese regions, a worker at an electronics store in the CDF Sanya International Duty-Free City told Yicai, noting that almost every duty-free store selling the phones has customers lining up.

Gold jewelry has been the best-selling item since the customs closure, with the products of the same brand costing about CNY1,250 per gram in Hainan and around CNY1,430 per gram in the rest of the country. In addition, customers take advantage of local government consumption subsidies and store discounts.

"After applying the tripple discounts, a bracelet weighing about 40 grams can save you between CNY13,000 and CNY14,000 (USD1,867 to USD2,010) if bought in Hainan," a staff member at the Lao Miao Gold store at the Sanya Hainan Tourism Duty-Free Shopping City said to Yicai.

Many foreign travelers are also shopping in Hainan's duty-free stores. Since the duty-free policy applies to departing tourists, the prices of more than 20 newly added international high-end product categories are on average 15 percent to 30 percent lower than those in European and US markets, significantly boosting relevant spending.

Editor: Martin Kadiev