(Yicai Global) Jan. 22 -- Lying off China's southern coast, Hainan province is well known as a top tourist target. It registered overall tourism revenue of CNY81 billion (USD13 billion) last year, up 21 percent per year, and greeted 67 million tourists, up 12 percent annually.

The Travel Work Conference the Hainan provincial government held today outlined the progress of its tourism industry. This overview showed it received 1.12 million foreign tourists last year for an annual growth of 50 percent, meaning the island has realized its goal of attracting 1 million tourists from other countries three years in advance. These tourists generated USD681 million in foreign exchange earnings, as Hinews.cn reported.

The province had 134 five-star hotels among an array of 4,085 guest houses by the end of last year, with 61 hotel brands developed by 25 international hotel management groups. The province boasts 54 A-level-above tourist attractions, 351 travel agencies and 5,000 certified tourist guides.

Hainan Island, constituting the bulk of this province, is China's second-largest island after Taiwan. It is hailed as 'China's Hawaii' for its extraordinary tropical scenery, in which Yalong Bay Resort, The End of the Earth Scenic Area and National Coral Reefs Reserve unfold their beauty.