Hainan: Gradually Easing or Removing Restrictions on Foreign Investment in Tourism Industry

According to the official website of the Hainan Provincial People's Congress Standing Committee, the "Hainan Free Trade Port Tourism Regulations" were passed at the 20th Session of the 7th Hainan Provincial People's Congress Standing Committee on September 30, 2025, and are hereby promulgated. The regulations will take effect on December 1, 2025.

The Regulations include a dedicated chapter on "Tourism Opening-Up and Internationalization," which, aligned with the goal of building an international tourism consumption center, pioneers a series of high-standard opening-up policies in the tourism sector.

Key measures include gradually easing or removing restrictions on foreign investment in the tourism industry, permitting eligible Sino-foreign joint-venture travel agencies and wholly foreign-owned enterprises to engage in outbound travel business (excluding Taiwan), allowing the establishment of foreign-invested performing arts groups with Chinese controlling stakes, and attracting more international capital to participate in the development of Hainan's tourism industry.