Hainan to host monthlong shopping festival

A news conference on the 2017 Hainan International Tourist Destination Shopping Festival is held in Haikou, South China's Hainan province, Nov 13, 2017.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

More than 25,600 companies, restaurants and shops will take part in the 2017 Hainan International Tourist Destination Shopping Festival in December, an official of the island province of Hainan said on Monday.

The province expects the total retail sales of consumer goods to increase 12 percent during the festival, Li Longsheng, deputy head of Hainan Provincial Department of Commerce, said at a news conference in Haikou, capital city of the province. 

He said that the Hainan government started preparing for the shopping festival, whose theme is "Charming Hainan, New Shopping Paradise", in October, hoping to make consumption an important economic driver in the province.

Fu Jun, a director of the department, said that participants in the festival will cover 11 industries, including shopping malls, supermarkets, restaurants and online platforms, such as Taobao and JD.com.

Compared with the first shopping festival last year, which mainly covered Haikou and Sanya, the festival this year will cover all 18 cities and counties across the province, Fu said.

An opening ceremony of the shopping festival will be held in Haikou on Dec 1, and Sanya, Danzhou and Qionghai will also hold ceremonies, Fu said.

More promotion activities will be held during the event, such as a food festival will be launched in Haikou and other three cities on Dec 12, and auto promotions will be on agenda of the last week of Dec, Fu said.

A closing ceremony will be held in Sanya on Dec 31, he said.