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Increasingly, Chinese travelers have become famous, or even perhaps infamous, for their appetite for shopping overseas.

Now, the Chinese government is set to capitalize on that voracity by keeping the money inside the country. But, just how are they doing it?

John Artman has the story.

Hainan. For just over a year now, the so called "Hawaii of China" has seen rapid growth in its tourist sector. After the central government announced its plan to turn the island province into an international tourist destination, developers and tourists have flocked here looking for their own piece of paradise.

A large part of the plan consists of making it easier for people to spend their money on the island, particularly on goods that might be hard to find or at least more expensive on the mainland. Over the next ten days, domestic and international visitors will be able to shop duty-free in a trial period that will be formalized by the beginning of May.

Lu Lu, the General Manager of China Duty Free Group, says that the stores in Hainan are the fourth such offshore duty free in the whole world and it will surely succeed due to Chinese people's desire for luxury.

"It is common knowledge that Chinese people consume most of the world's luxury goods."

After seeing the opening, the policy certainly seems popular among Chinese tourists. One tourist from Harbin bought some things for her daughter. She says the duty free policy makes shopping quite convenient.

"I bought lipstick, perfume, and soap for my daughter. The price is reasonable and we don't have to go all the way to Hong Kong. We are happy that we can buy our daughter some gifts so easily."

Lu Lu, the GM, is confident that the duty free stores and policies will attract foreign tourists, especially Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia. However, Hatai Mataichi, Japan Department advisor for China Travel International in Sanya, doubts this policy will attract very many of his countrymen.

"In my opinion, the duty free policy won't be a big attraction to Japanese tourists. There are many duty free shops in Shanghai and Guam, so Japanese tourists won't come to Hainan because of the shopping."

John Lanser, owner and operator of Asia Partners, is visiting from Holland. He says while he won't visit Hainan only for the refund, it certainly gives him more incentive.

You cannot take out one point. I don't go there for tax refund or only for visa policy, but the total makes it more interesting, I think.

To enjoy these discounts shoppers must first provide their flight information and valid ID. Then, when they are leaving, they can pick up their purchased items from the airport. At the moment, this is only available in Sanya. However, there are plans to expand to Haikou.

For CRI, I'm John Artman.