A customs scheme covering the entirety of Hainan, China’s southern island province, appears to have triggered a surge in consumption since its inception last week, with the province’s tourism hub Sanya recording more than 500 million yuan (US$71.25 million) in duty-free sales over five days.
Analysts cautioned, however, that the greater significance of the policy lies less in short-term spending boosts than in whether Hainan can diversify its economy beyond its previous reliance on real estate…