Located by the South China Sea, Haitang Bay, Sanya is China’s national coast and a key development zone in Hainan’s blueprint of international tourism island construction. Haitang Bay Duty Free Shopping Center of approximately 120,000 square meters in floor area, including 72,000 square meters of commercial area, is the world’s biggest single-structured duty free shopping mall. Business area of Phase I, which was launched today, accounts for nearly 90% of the total commercial area; while Phase II will be completed by the Chinese New Year of 2015. The super-sized shopping center includes multiple business forms and provides various functional experiences. Besides numerous international premium brands such as Louis Vuitton, Prada and Giorgio Armani, the shopping center consists of five functional zones, namely special commodities of various countries, special products of Hainan, outdoor sports, food court and customer service, as well as recreational and leisure zone including a game zone for children.
According to statistics, nearly 300 internationally renowned brands and over 100,000 trendy items were on the shelves of Haitang Bay Duty Free Store, among which over 10 brands including Prada, Giorgio Armani and Rolex entered duty free market channel in China’s mainland for the first time; while global flagship store and concept store of top brand perfumes and cosmetics including Chanel, Dior, Estee Lauder, Lancome in the tourism retail market would open their doors for the first time. The diversified categories and brands shall provide consumers with more choices and fully satisfy their demand for tourism shopping, while bringing island duty free shopping onto a new height.
Besides enjoying tourism shopping, shoppers are also offered the unique experience of “Flower-Laden Journey”. With begonia as the source of inspiration of the architectural design, the entire architecture adopts a continuous spatial curved surface steel structure, resembling a graceful begonia blooming on the azure coastline. With the five senses of shopping, i.e. vision, sound, smell, touch and taste, the entire project design consists of a number of thematic halls including Ocean, Begonia, Flower, Treasure in the Sea; while the interior design features the innovative combination of art and fashion elements. With the grandeur and elegance of “Begonia” and the ingenious interior design, the shopping center offers tourists with a unique sensory impression and pleasant shopping experience.
According to relevant state policy, the duty free store in Dadonghai, Sanya will be closed after the opening of Haitang Bay Duty Free Shopping Mall. To provide easy access to the shopping center, a station has been planned by the high-speed railway between Haikou and Sanya; while free shuttle bus service is provided by the shopping center to connect it with hot tourist attractions including Yalong Bay, Sanya Bay and Luhuitou.
The past three years since the implementation of island duty free policy in Hainan, visible changes have taken place in tourist consumption structure, with the percentage of shopping expenditure increasing sharply from 13.8% to 27.6%, and island duty free has become a new business card of Hainan tourism, which is transforming from sightseeing to a combination of sightseeing and shopping. During this process, CITS and its subsidiary CDFG integrate their own development into the strategic construction of Hainan international tourism island, constantly giving full play to its advantages in brand resources, capital, operation and management on the basis of the duty free shopping mall. The further implementation of island duty free policy has therefore played a significant role in supporting the construction of international tourism island. Haitang Bay Duty Free Shopping Center, when launched, will bring island duty free shopping onto a new horizon with its super size, multiple brands and innovative services, with improvements made in catering, hospitality facilities, transportation, sightseeing, shopping and entertainment, collectively known as the six elements of tourism. The opening of Haitang Bay Duty Free Shopping Center marks a new height in the development of duty free business in China while providing Chinese consumers with a new platform for world-class duty free shopping without travelling abroad.
