Trouble in China’s Shopping Paradise as Hainan Duty-Free Spending Falls 29%

Duty-free spending in China’s island province of Hainan, where global luxury players from LVMH to Kering have set up shop, slumped 29.3 percent last year as a weak economy saw a sharp drop in 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, local customs data showed on Thursday, falling 29.3 percent from a year earlier.

The number of shoppers visiting Hainan fell 15.9…