(Yicai Global) Jan. 18 -- Sanya, a popular travel destination in southern China’s Hainan province, is welcoming a rising number of tourists ahead of Chinese New Year after the country eased its Covid-19 prevention and control policy.

Hotels' occupancy rates have been surging while duty-free stores and restaurants in the city are packed with customers, Yicai Global learned.

Near the Phoenix Island Resort Sanya, built on an artificial island, there are around one hundred yachts. "Sanya will definitely achieve good results in the tourism industry this year," a local yacht business owner said to Yicai Global. At the moment, the firm is busy while in the past three years, it basically had no business, the tourism professional added.

The Yalong Bay Tropical Paradise Forest Park, known for its rainforest, has been logging increasingly large daily visitor numbers of around 8,500 people on average and as high as nearly 10,000 people, a manager said.

The local hospitality and catering sectors are enjoying the change of wind. "My restaurant has been full of customers in recent days," a business owner in the forest park said, adding that the scenic spot has huge crowds of tourists, basically the same level as three years ago before the pandemic.

The restaurant owner also operates a souvenir store in the park. As tourists emerged, he had to offer up to CNY8,000 (USD1,180) in monthly salary to hire more shop assistants.

A staff member of a four-star hotel in Sanya said that since last month, the hotel has maintained an occupancy ratio of 100 percent, which is expected to continue until March.

A worker at local Holiday Inn Resort said that the hotel's occupancy ratio exceeds 90 percent, with a starting price of CNY1,988 for a standard room. The price is expected to rise to CNY2,688 during the seven-day Lunar New Year holiday that starts on Jan. 21. In comparison, the off-season price for the same room is as low as CNY800 (USD118).

Some clients are ready to pay the price. "I would like to stay a few more days, despite the high room costs,” a Beijing-based tourist told Yicai Global. "I might go crazy without a vacation in three years."

Another tourist from northern China said that he had recovered from Covid a week ago, and he came to Sanya to catch some rays and breath the fresh coastal air.

Hainan province is known for its duty-free stores. A retail worker at one outlet said that in recent days, many more tourists have been lining up to shop.

Sanya's tax-free stores are expecting a new round of consumption during the upcoming holiday after recording CNY380 million (USD56 million) in offshore duty-free sales over the recent holiday from Dec. 31 to Jan. 2, with 40,000 buyers and 370,000 items, according to customs data.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi