Hainan Economic and Cultural New Observation: Cultural and Tourism Projects Accelerate "New Launches"

China News Service, Haikou, April 3— (Zhang Yue and )Wenying culture and tourism projects are accelerating their “new launches,” becoming a standout highlight of Hainan’s 2025 “report card” for its cultural, tourism and sports industry.

At a special press conference in Hainan Province on April 3 for new tourism, cultural, and sports products and projects, Li Haigang, Deputy Director of the Hainan Provincial Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports, said that since 2025, Hainan has rolled out 116 cultural, tourism and sports projects in total, covering five major sectors: hotels, homestays, marine culture and sports, commercial consumption, and island tourism. Product supply has become more diverse, and the industry’s capacity continues to improve, injecting strong momentum into the building of Hainan as an international tourism and consumption center.

At the evening of June 10, 2025, the Dongpo Old Wharf in Haikou, Hainan was brightly lit; crowds of visitors poured in, and a traditional-style performance titled “Song Rhyme” attracted people to stop and watch.　China News Service reporter Luo Yunfei, photo

Judging from the “report card” of Hainan’s cultural, tourism and sports industry released by the provincial authorities last year, the acceleration of new launches in cultural and tourism projects is reflected in four aspects.

First, the highlights of cultural-tourism and commercial complex projects are prominent, and new landmarks are invigorating consumption. As an important support for building an international tourism and consumption center, 10 cultural-tourism and commercial complex projects have already been established in Hainan. They focus on building cultural-tourism and commercial complexes, featured commercial pedestrian streets, and immersive consumption scenes, with significant consumption-driving effects.

Among them, the Dongpo Old Wharf in Haikou reopened in May 2025 after an upgrade, and was successfully recognized as a provincial-level tourism leisure district. Up to now, it has received more than 3.5 million visitor trips, becoming the core engine for Haikou’s cultural and tourism consumption. Sanya Haitang Story ( Phase ) has started trial operation; it adopts a dual-track operation model of “commercial complex + 4A scenic area.” Hainan’s first-in-brand ratio exceeds 70%, gathering six Michelin and Black Pearl related brands. It will be developed into a new high-end consumption landmark in Haitang Bay.

Second, marine culture and sports formats are rich and diverse, and new ways to “break through the waves” have emerged. A total of 50 marine culture and sports projects have been launched. Relying on basic formats such as fishing and waterside leisure, they deeply explore distinctive resources such as marine science popularization, lighthouse culture, and Tanka culture, fully showcasing Hainan’s unique charm of marine culture.

During the 2025 “National Day” holiday period, the Shenchong Coastal Tourism Resort in Danzhou went into operation, becoming a new coastal cultural and tourism landmark in Danzhou, adding fresh highlights to the holiday tourism market. It attracts many tourists to check in and experience, effectively activating the vitality of coastal tourism consumption in western regions. On January 18, 2026, the Xinglong bicycle theme park in Wanning opened. This is Hainan’s first bicycle theme park, connecting high-quality resources of rainforests, rural areas, and the coast, and building a new format of “cycling + tourism + leisure” to enrich the supply of outdoor tourism products. On November 11, 2025, as the country’s first surf-themed trendy holiday destination, the Wanning Riyuewan Zhonglv Surf Resort opened. It features the nation’s first Olympic-grade artificial surf pool, which can simulate 23 types of wave forms to meet the surfing needs of different groups.

Third, the supply of high-end hotels has been enhanced and upgraded, and new quality refreshes the experience. Hainan has planned 11 high-end hotel projects, mainly brand hotels, themed hotels, and resort hotels, covering key tourist cities and counties across the province. Among them, eight key projects will be completed and begin operating in succession from the end of 2025 to the beginning of 2026, effectively enhancing Hainan’s capacity for high-end accommodation supply and the level of guest services.

Fourth, homestays and island tourism have become the main force, and a new scenery links the entire region. The development of the homestay industry with distinct characteristics and improved quality is accelerating. A total of 10 projects have already been launched, highlighting local culture and ecological experience, strongly driving high-quality development of rural tourism. Island tourism projects have the largest number and the richest variety of formats, with 35 projects already launched, covering multiple areas including scenic spot quality improvement, science popularization and research study tours, nighttime economy, rural tourism, and the integration of culture and tourism. A development pattern has been formed characterized by multi-point support and coexistence across multiple industries.

Li Haigang said that Hainan’s cultural, tourism and sports industry is building on momentum and continuing to make efforts, with new projects accelerating their rollout, new products being released in dense waves, and new ways to play blooming in a hundred flowers. Overall, it presents a favorable development trend characterized by full categories, an optimized layout, many highlights, and strong momentum, providing solid support for building Hainan as an international tourism and consumption center. (End)