Sanya Gears up for 2019 Tourist Influx, New Mega Facilities

To embrace the upcoming tourist peak season in the first quarter of 2019, the Sanya government hosted a press conference on the morning of December 21st, 2018. The press conference reported on management and regulation of the tourism market ahead of the tourist peak season. Two new tourism projects were unveiled at the press conference.

Ensure a safe and sound tourism environment

In an effort to ensure a safe and sound tourism environment during the peak season. On December 18th, 2018, Chen Tiejun, vice mayor of Sanya, presided over a working conference that focused on the management and rectification of the tourism market during the upcoming New Year and Chinese New Year travel peak. Chen requested that all law-enforcement departments in the Greater Sanya Tourism Circle launch a crackdown on illegal tourism businesses and activities including unreasonable low-priced tours, overpriced latex products sales, and shopping venues involving misleading promotions and sale of overpriced products. The Sanya Tourism Development Commission joins hands with the Sanya Administration of Work Safety, the Sanya Firefighting Brigade, and the Sanya Health Bureau to set up a work group to carry out safety inspections on the city’s scenic spots and star-rated hotels.

Two new tourism projects unveiled

Sanya Beluga Ocean World will open in January 2019. Developed by Dalian Sun Asia Tourism Holding Co., Ltd., the ocean themed park is located at the Creative Industrial Park in Yazhou District of Sanya. It will be a kid-friendly ocean-themed destination integrating ocean world exploration, interactive entertainment, dining, and accommodations.

Sanya Haichang Fantasy Town in Haitang Bay will officially open to the public on January 20th, 2019. The project will feature the first domestic zero-distance human-shark interaction, an ocean central theater show, a water cruise, a silk road-themed flying theater, a ferris wheel, a “dolphin bay,” a whale shark museum, more than 20 family-oriented entertainment options, submarine restaurants, and diversified thematic cuisine.

In recent years, Sanya has worked actively to develop new modes of tourism alongside other well-developed regular tourism products such as ocean travel, forest tourism, rural tourism, wedding and honeymoon tourism, cruise travel, and family travel. Sanya is on its way to becoming an international tourist consumption center.

Tourist arrivals

From January to November 2018, Sanya received 19.7577 million domestic and overseas tourists, a year-on-year increase of 11.68 percent. Among them, the number of domestic tourists received reached 19.032 million, up 11.48 percent year on year; the number of overseas tourists received was 725,700 (including 90,000 one-day tour overseas tourists), up 17.07 percent year on year. The number of over-night tourists reached 18.4702 million, up 11.29 percent year on year. The number of one-day tour tourists reached 1.2874 million, up 17.35 percent year on year. The hotel room occupancy rate across the city reached 70.16 percent, a year-on-year increase of 2.05 percent.

Sanya welcomed 121 visits by cruise liners since the beginning of 2018, handling 79,268 cruise passengers. A total of eight yacht marinas began operations, providing 973 berths. The low-altitude sightseeing tourism received 20,126 tourists in the first three quarters of 2018.

Tourism revenue

From January to November 2018, tourism revenue in Sanya topped RMB 45.138 billion, a year-on-year increase of 16.19 percent. Among them, domestic tourism revenue reached RMB 41.850 billion, a year-on-year increase of 17.66 percent; Foreign exchange earnings from international tourism reached 487.1798 million US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 1.24 percent. Over night tourists spent RMB 4.4594 billion, while one-day tour tourists spent RMB 544 million, up 16.10 percent and 23.36 percent respectively.