Russian tourists land in Hainan to spend their holidays. [Photos provided to China Daily]

Russian tourists land in Hainan to spend their holidays.

Hainan has extraordinary natural resources to entice visitors, with 25 large-scale scenic spots. However, to date, it has remained largely a sightseeing tourism island, due to a lack of fully developed tourism complexes.

Once the Atlantis Sanya project and Lingshui marine theme park and other projects around the island province are completed, they will greatly enrich the variety of tourism products and enhance the quality of tourism in Hainan, Sun said.

Expanding overseas links, both air and sea

By late last year, 56 air routes had been opened - connecting Hainan with Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, and international destinations including Russia, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Germany.

These have made it much easier for international tourists to reach the tropical island.

The international flight routes are expected to increase to 100 by the year 2020, according to the Liu Cigui, Party chief of Hainan.

Meanwhile, sea routes to the province have also expanded, with a greater range that covers countries in southeast Asia.

In December, Haikou, the capital city of Hainan, and Sanya, launched cruise routes to link with the Philippines and Vietnam.

Hainan plans to further work with Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

Low-altitude flights offer a bird's eye view

Hainan also offers tourists a bird's eye view of some of its most beautiful spots. Tourists can choose either a helicopter or a seaplane to take in the highlights.

Seaplane operator Meiya Air Travel has opened 19 air tour routes.

"Tourists can choose to fly to the Xisha islands in the South China Sea, or see the breath-taking spots in Sanya," said company employee Zhu Jia.

At Haikou, visitors can pay 398 yuan to board a seaplane to witness the grandeur of the volcano park scenery or busy Xiuying port.

Developing MICE tourism

Nowadays Hainan's MICE industry - meetings, incentives, conferencing and exhibitions - has entered a new development period, boosted by international expos and fairs.

More than 746 companies from 30 countries and regions participated in the third Hainan International Tourism Island Expo held recently in Haikou. The expo brought in more than one million visitors.

MICE tourism is one of the new tourism formats that Hainan is going to develop in the next five years, according to the Hainan tourism commission.

The province received more than 67.45 million tourists in 2017, up 12.2 percent year-on-year, contributing 81 billion yuan in revenue.