More Convenient Entry Lures Overseas Tour Operators to Sanya

(Source: Sanya Tourism Development Commission)

Overseas travel operators from Kazakhstan and Russia arrived in Sanya on charter flights on May 10th and May 12th, 2018, respectively, to start a study tour of the tourism resources in the Greater Sanya tourism circle.

The trips by the overseas travel operators were part of Sanya’s “Invite In” marketing strategy in key tourism markets. The visits were planned after Hainan began offering more convenient visa-free travel access for tourists from 59 countries from May 1st, 2018. The move was aimed to promote Hainan’s new visa-free travel policy, with the goal of attracting more international tourists and nurturing the tourism industry.

A representative from the Kazakhstan Travel Agency, one of the three major travel agencies in Almaty, said, “we think the new visa-free travel entry program will be a great selling point for Sanya, and will help attract greater numbers of tourists from Kazakhstan. Over the past few years, many visitors have expressed that the allowed 15-day stay in Hainan was too short for them to fully appreciate the local ethnic culture.”

According to Mr. Zhang Shiwei — one of the persons in charge of Sanya Eden International Travel Co., Ltd. — the three major travel agencies in Kazakhstan have confirmed that they will visit Sanya this month. The travel agencies will arrange for sales distributors to visit Hainan to familiarize themselves with new policy, with the aim of helping them develop more quality healthcare and folk-culture tour products.

After the four-day inspection tour of the tourism offerings of Greater Sanya, the Novosibirsk travel operators were invited for a discussion with local authorities on May 15th, 2018. Both sides exchanged ideas on visa-free access procedures, travel vehicles, tourist product exploration, and the launch of charter flights, in order to create a more efficient plan in support of Hainan’s new visa-free policy as well as to facilitate tourist trips from the 59 countries.