HAIKOU, China, May 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report from chinadaily.com.cn:

A tourism promotion event for China's southernmost Hainan province was held in Los Angeles on May 11 — jointly organized by the Hainan Provincial Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Film and Sports and the China National Tourism Office in the city.

The Hainan Tourism Los Angeles Promotion Office was officially inaugurated at the event, marking a big step toward establishing a permanent and professional overseas promotional presence for Hainan in the lucrative North American market.

Since the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) launched its island-wide special customs operations, inbound tourism to Hainan has soared, driven by an expanded visa-free policy, a growing network of international air routes and improved tourism branding.

In the first quarter of 2026, Hainan received more than 489,800 inbound tourists, up more than 53.1 percent year-on-year.

Chen Fenghua, consul at the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles, said the city is a key cultural, tourism and aviation hub on the US West Coast, and is complementary in its resources to Hainan.

The event and the opening of the new office represented an important outcome of cultural and tourism exchanges between the two places and the consulate general would continue to support deeper cooperation between Hainan and California in promoting people-to-people exchanges, cultural understanding and trade connectivity.

Wu Dawei, director of the China National Tourism Office in Los Angeles, said that as the FTP developed, Hainan is fast becoming one of China's most internationally connected and dynamic tourism destinations.

China's 144-hour transit visa-free policy continued to be optimized, offering international visitors more flexible travel options. He expressed the hope that through industry and media promotion, more American tourists would visit Hainan and see it as both a window into China and a premier leisure destination.

The new Hainan Tourism Los Angeles Promotion Office, officially established at Wenjing Holidays travel agency, will carry out such core functions as market promotions, organizing visitors, outreach channels, brand communications, events coordination and business partnership developments.

It will conduct regular promotions of Hainan's tourism offerings, channel cooperation of partners, media outreaches and themed events to bring Hainan and the North American market closer.

A provincial tourism official said that establishing overseas tourism promotion offices was an important step in extending the development of Hainan as an international tourism and consumption center and expanding its global visitor base.

Los Angeles, as a North American hub for culture and tourism, is seen as a key strategic foothold for Hainan's expansion into the North American market. Moving forward, the office will serve as a bridge to advance sustained and structured cooperation between Hainan and Los Angeles in areas including route development, visitor exchange, joint product development and co-branding.