In Sanya, even the winter air is warm. With the holding of the 5th Hainan Island International Film Festival (HIIFF), the romantic atmosphere and heartwarming scenes have attracted guests and tourists from home and abroad to gather and celebrate this grand event together. This not only brings a long-awaited audiovisual feast to film fans, but also drives a continuous rise in Sanya's tourism popularity.
Recently, with the holding of the 5th HIIFF, a series of film screening activities have been enthusiastically sought after by film lovers, citizens, and tourists.
Using cinema as a medium to connect the world. This year's festival not only screens over a hundred films but also features distinctive screening sections such as "Ends of the Earth", "Retrospective Classics", "Hainan Focus", "Island-wide Carnival", and "Coconut Breeze and Sea Charms". In particular, the "Hainan Focus" section includes the Guangming Cinema public screening, the Kazakhstan Film Special Screening, the Indian Film Special Screening, the Hong Kong Classic Film Special Screening, the Italian Film Special Screening, and the Hainan Film Special Screening, which highlights Hainan elements while keeping a global perspective. In addition, the festival innovatively integrates tourism products from relevant scenic spots across Sanya and the entire Hainan Island, linking leading enterprises in distinctive tourism sectors such as duty-free shopping and hotels, and connecting the upstream and downstream of the film industry. Film works from various countries gather together, presenting audiences with diverse cultural collisions. This not only strengthens cultural exchange but also provides domestic audiences with more choices. Meanwhile, the festival's activities are not limited to film screenings; there are also a series of professional events such as industry forums and jury meet-and-greets, which promote deeper commercial cooperation within the film industry. This allows HIIFF to transition from a niche professional market to a mass fashion market, better focusing on and serving the end-consumer groups in the film industry's consumption sector.
Driving Regional Economic Development
"Sanya's winter is much more comfortable than Xining's. Watching the sea on the beach during the day and taking the kids to a movie at night feels really great. You should come and visit!" Xiao Yimin, who is vacationing at the Mangrove Tree Resort Hotel in Sanya's Haitang Bay, made this enthusiastic invitation while on the phone with a friend. Staying in the hotel's villa area right next to the sea, he is in a beautiful mood every day. Having been here for just four days, Mr. Xiao and his family have already left a positive review: comfortable, pleasant, and free.
"We don't have high demands for food and accommodation; we came out mainly for a winter escape and duty-free shopping. We didn't expect to catch the HIIFF and gain so many unexpected surprises!" Chen Shihao, an Inner Mongolian tourist who just finished a diving trip at Wuzhizhou Island, said directly that he deeply appreciates the benefits of a winter "island tour." "Temperatures have dropped all over the country recently. I originally thought we could only walk by the sea and look at the scenic spots, but I didn't expect that we could still go diving in Sanya. Fulfilling our 'diving dream' in winter is a completely different experience. Not only that, coinciding with HIIFF, we can also see many stars. It's a truly worthwhile trip," Chen Shihao said. "Enjoying seafood, visiting scenic spots, watching blockbusters, and duty-free shopping—scheduling one activity a day without rushing around is easy and comfortable."
"Our hotel's room occupancy rate in November reached 90%. With the boost of HIIFF in December, the average room occupancy rate from December 1 to December 18 reached 96.8%, and on weekends, we are basically fully booked," Cai Liwei, Director of Sales and Marketing at the Tianfang InterContinental Resort Haitang Bay, told reporters. The hotel has already completed this year's annual target ahead of schedule, surpassing the same period last year.
A public relations representative for the Shangri-La Hotel Haitang Bay revealed that in addition to the booming regular room bookings, the hotel's distinctive villas are also very popular among tourists. "Our hotel's current occupancy rate in December has increased by 23% compared to November." The representative told reporters that since entering December, demand for rooms at the Shangri-La Hotel has been strong, with the daily room opening rate rising steadily, currently increasing from 89% at the beginning of the month to 95.7% in the middle of the month.
"The hosting of HIIFF in Haitang District has greatly enhanced the district's visibility. More and more tourists are coming here to travel, which not only drives economic development but also promotes industrial upgrading, enhancing the public's sense of gain and happiness," Huang Shuang, head of the Haitang District Tourism Association, introduced.
Promoting the Renewal of Consumption Concepts
Around 12:00 p.m. on December 19, the Sanya International Duty-Free City was bustling with crowds as people happily selected their favorite items.
"This perfume sells for 730 yuan elsewhere, but it's only 455 yuan here. Face cream, eye cream, and facial masks are also very cheap. There are just so many things I want to buy," said Miss Zhang, who was lining up to pay at the Estée Lauder store. She and her friend came to Sanya for a vacation and originally just wanted to buy some duty-free goods, but unexpectedly caught the HIIFF, allowing them to enjoy blockbusters every day. She is absolutely delighted.
"Shopping during the day and watching movies at night—it's wonderful. There's a huge variety of goods here with a wide range of choices. Most importantly, the prices are cheap, generally several hundred or even thousands of yuan cheaper than at regular counters." During the festival, film fans Yang Ziyu and Liu Jie, who flew from Changsha to Sanya specifically, stood at the entrance of the duty-free city, shooting short videos on their phones while continuously striking various poses.
"With the holding of the festival, the customer flow in the store has noticeably increased. We have added more shopping guide staff, and the counter cashiers have also increased their manpower," a salesperson at the Estée Lauder counter told reporters.
Industry insiders stated that the holding of HIIFF is not only a celebration for the film industry but also an active response to consumption upgrading. As a cultural carrier, film, through its unique power, is driving the renewal of social concepts and the upgrading of consumption concepts, opening a door for people to a more refined life. This grand event pushes the influence of the film industry into broader fields.
Source: Sanya Media Convergence Reporter Hu Yongjun / Text, Li Xueshi / Photo
Editor: Ye Ziyi
