China's travel retail space is growing in leaps and bounds, nowhere more so than the island destination of Hainan. A duty free pilot program that began in the tourist hub of Sanya earlier this year, has now been extended to the provincial capital of Haikou.

The long-awaited Haikou duty free shop opens today.

The long-awaited Haikou duty free shop opens today. Passengers are buying up big, after passing a security check and before boarding. The new store covers an area of two thousand square meters. It provides a wide selection of merchandise, from fragrances and cosmetics to sunglasses and watches. Imported confectionery also takes up a large portion of the sales floor.

One tourist said: "This prompted us to visit Hainan. We already love travelling here, now we are even more motivated"

Only a few hours after the shop opened, it's already packed with busy shoppers. In less than an hour, close to a thousand travelers came through the door. Most are shopping for fragrance and cosmetics, others are looking for sunglasses and accessories.

Another tourist said: "We have been to the duty free shop in Sanya, but we usually leave the island from Haikou. This is really convenient for us"

Another advantage of the Haikou duty-free shop is that passengers can shop with their ID and boarding passes, and take their purchases with them right after shopping as opposed to shopping in duty-free malls in Sanya. There, they have to store their purchases at the airport and pick them up after they check in.

Liu Junchun, vice president of Hainan Airlines Group said: "Passengers can shop here directly after checking in, and bring their merchandise with them on board. It's very convenient. "

The Meilan duty-free shop operates between 6 am to 11pm, 7 days a week. Organizers of the pilot program are hoping the new retail opportunities will attract more tourist flows to Haikou, with visitors currently preferring to flock to the holiday hub of Sanya.