Xinhua News Agency, Paris/Haikou, March 9 (Reporter Zhang Baihui, Zhou Huimin) On the afternoon of the 8th local time, the "Hello! China Sunshine Hainan" International Image Exhibition and Hainan Tourism Promotion Activity was held in Paris, France.

The picture shows the scene of the "Hello! China Sunshine Hainan" International Photo Exhibition and Hainan Tourism Promotion Event.

The event was held at the Centre de l'Orient in Paris and lasted for seven days from March 8. A total of photo exhibition areas such as Sunshine Island, Rainforest Elf, Health and Wellness Holy Land, Shopping Paradise, and Qiongtai Humanities were set up at the event site, presenting Hainan's development achievements in cultural and tourism integration, health care and medical care, and duty-free shopping in recent years from multiple angles. In addition to the photo exhibition, more than 200 intangible cultural heritage exhibits with Hainan characteristics, such as Li costumes, Li brocades, coconut carvings, and shell carvings, were all unveiled, jointly creating a unique atmosphere of Chinese and French culture, tradition and modernity, and providing guests with a "Hainan" experience of sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste.

Bruno Gensburger, Commercial Commissioner of the French Embassy in China, made a presentation on Hainan tourism at the scene.

Wang Zhongyun, deputy director of the Hainan Provincial Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports, introduced in his speech that Hainan, as the world's largest free trade port, China's only international tourism consumption center, China's largest special economic zone and international tourism island, is the strategic fulcrum of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, and is a beautiful and romantic international tourist destination.

The unique tropical island scenery, the colorful Li and Miao ethnic culture, and the historical heritage represented by the Dongpo culture constitute Hainan's rich tourism resources. According to statistics, Hainan will receive more than 90 million domestic and foreign tourists in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 49.9%. During the Spring Festival holiday in 2024, Hainan Province will receive 9.5145 million tourists and achieve a total tourism income of 15.127 billion yuan, two indicators to a new high.

Marie-Pierre Boucher Aurier, Special Adviser to the World Tourism Organization, viewing the photo exhibition at the event.

Recently, Hainan Province has continued to make efforts to promote foreign tourists to travel to Hainan Province, and has created a variety of characteristic tourism products for international tourists. According to reports, Hainan has now opened 47 overseas routes, 13 yacht marinas and more than 2,300 yacht berths, and you can circle the island in 3 hours by high-speed rail. In 2024, Hainan plans to resume 66 overseas routes, striving for a breakthrough in the seventh air right passenger route in the first half of this year. In addition, the newly launched Hainan Island Tourist Highway has a total length of 988 kilometers, running through 12 coastal cities and counties, 31 national A-level tourist attractions, 21 coastal tourist resorts, 7 marine sports bases, and 11 five-coconut beautiful villages, covering coastal vacations, sports, medical and health care, research and other tourism products.

Wu Kongde (first from left), a master of Chinese arts and crafts, introduced his idea of creating the Dongpo image wood carving of "Guanyan Wendao" to foreign guests.

At the event site on the 8th, Wang Zhongyun's introduction of the visa-free policy for inbound tourism in Hainan aroused great interest among the guests. It is reported that on February 9, 2024, the National Immigration Administration decided to expand the visa-free entry into Hainan for personnel from some countries, and on the basis of entering Hainan for tourism, personnel from 59 countries including France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and Germany are allowed to enter Hainan without a visa for no more than 30 days for business, trade, visits, family visits, medical treatment, exhibitions, sports competitions and other needs (except for work and study reasons).

The guests were looking at the coconut shell painting "Spring to Paris" made by Ke Qiufeng, the provincial inheritor of Hainan coconut carving.

In addition, in order to further promote the implementation of inbound tourism facilitation measures for overseas tourists and solve the problem of inconvenience in payment for groups such as foreign visitors to China, Hainan has recently launched a public beta test on the "Hainan Assured Payment" platform. At that time, overseas visitors to China will not need to download any software to realize traditional card consumption.

After listening to the speeches of the Chinese guests, the French guests not only admired Hainan's rich tourism resources, but also enthusiastically offered suggestions for the province to further attract French tourists. Marie-Pierre Boucher Aurier, Special Adviser to the World Tourism Organization, pointed out that consideration should be given to increasing tourism visits to Hainan Province, focusing on the province's ideal climate, high-quality hotels, duty-free shops and other tourism resources to enhance its visibility in foreign markets; strengthening direct communication between Hainan Province and foreign tourism industry personnel to jointly design and develop tourism routes; making good use of Internet tools to provide fresh and accurate information to tourism professionals, media and tourists, and striving to improve the attractiveness of relevant websites.

The guests are watching the bamboo silk painting "Only This Green".

The guests were looking at the exquisite Li costumes.

French artist Remy Aron, who has been to China for many exchanges, said at the event that 2024 is the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between France and China, and the two countries can work together to make greater contributions to the construction of civilization in the 21st century. He believes that with its various advantages, the Hainan Free Trade Port can develop into a global tourist destination, a place where art meets, and move towards an emerging world cultural center.

The event was hosted by the Hainan Provincial Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports, the Hainan Branch of Xinhua News Agency, and the Xinhua News Information Center, and undertaken by the Hainan Center of Xinhua News and Information Center and Xinhua Gallery (France) Culture Communication Co., Ltd.

The guests were tasting and exchanging Hainan partridge tea.