Reuters
BEIJING (Reuters) -Duty-free spending slumped 29.3% last year in China's island province of Hainan, where global luxury players from LVMH to Kering have set up shop, as a weak economy led to a sharp drop in numbers of domestic visitors. Shoppers visiting Hainan, known for its glitzy seafront hotels and sandy beaches, spent 30.94 billion yuan ($4.24 billion) on duty-free goods in 2024, customs data showed on Thursday, down from 43.76 billion in 2023. "The depreciation of foreign currencies, such as the Japanese yen, combined with attractive travel policies like visa-free entry in Malaysia, has led many Chinese consumers to seek lower prices abroad," said Kenneth Chow, principal at consultancy Oliver Wyman.