Singapore's leading travel firms explore Hainan

About 20 representatives from Singapore’s leading travel companies working mainly in outbound tourism were invited to take a five-day inspection tour and participate in exchange activities in China’s southernmost island province of Hainan last week.

Invited by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television, and Sports of Hainan Province, the representatives from Sino-America (SA) Tours, Jun-Air Travel, Travel Star, and Continental Travel Singapore attended a tourism exchange symposium and proposed several cooperative projects.

Representatives from Singapore’s leading travel companies at a tourism exchange symposium held in Hainan. [Photo: Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television, and Sports of Hainan Province]

According to Wu Fan, Vice President of the Hainan United Airlines Travel Group, flights between Haikou (the capital city of Hainan) and Singapore resumed on March 15, and have now increased to 10 times per week, facilitating travel, trade, and cooperation in the areas of tourism and culture between the two places.

Singapore’s travel agents, who were briefed on Hainan’s major attractions, tourism products, and duty-free and visa-free policies at the symposium, showed high levels of interest in the central part of the island, especially Maona Village in Wuzhishan.

Aerial view of Maona Village in Wuzhishan, which is home to beautiful landscapes and Li culture. [Photo: Li Tianping/Hainan Daily]

Singapore was one of the first 20 countries to enjoy the return of Chinese tourists after the pandemic, as well as one of the 59 countries included in Hainan’s visa-free entry policy. Considered a Southeast Asia tourism barometer, Singapore has long been an important inbound tourist source market with competitive advantages for Hainan.