Duty free retail sales in Hainan reached 8.32 billion yuan ($1.27 billion) throughout the months of January and February, with over one million people buying more than 10 million products, according to Haikou customs’ data.

This means retail sales grew 319.7 percent over the same period last year, when many duty free stores in Hainan were closed due to China’s initial response to its Covid-19 outbreak in the early months of 2020.

The tropical island in Southern China has set an annual target for duty-free sales of 60 billion yuan ($9.18 billion). Haikou, the capital of Hainan province, will host the first China International Consumer Products Expo in May as part of this drive to boost sales even further.