Hainan's "Event Of The Year" Combines Private Jets, Yachts And Mega-Yachts, Luxury Real Estate And Lifestyle Products From Some Of World's Best Brands#
Hainan island, China's southernmost province, has been in the news quite a bit lately, mostly in regards to the Chinese government's recently unveiled plans to transform the island into a top international tourism destination by 2020. These plans, which involve not only the construction of new infrastructure but also educational and economic reforms, have not been without controversy, but for hoteliers and luxury retailers, Beijing's vision for the island is likely a cause for optimism.
Although Hainan has been a popular tourist destination among mainland Chinese for years, retailers and tour operators appear to agree unanimously that the island is in need of a makeover. Apparently, planners in Beijing feel that this makeover needs to get the island up to international standards in order to draw lucrative non-Chinese tourists.
Currently, the majority of tourists in Hainan are mainland Chinese, although the island is popular with foreign tourists from Southeast Asia and Russia. The new Hainan tourism measures seem aimed at drawing more western Europeans and central Asians, however, with plans to extend visa-free traveling to travelers from Finland, Denmark, Norway, Ukraine and Kazakhstan from the previous 21 nations, which included the United States, Japan and Canada. Although the newer emphasis on luxury hotels and retailers seems to be aimed at lifting the island's reputation internationally, the end result may just be more high-end tourists from the mainland, since many western tourists have decided to vacation nearer to home in the wake of the global economic slowdown.
To entice these high-end tourists, Hainan's five-star hotels will have no choice but to increase their promotional spending and hold more events catering to this demographic. Last week, the recently constructed Mandarin Oriental Sanya announced that it will take part in the "Hainan Rendez-Vous" luxury event, to be held over Easter weekend in April. Organized by China Rendez-Vous -- a luxury marketing company -- and Visun International Yacht Club, "Hainan’s first international world class marina," Hainan Rendez-Vous will showcase everything from high-end residences to private jets to luxury goods.
In addition to drawing wealthy mainlanders to Hainan, the event seems to be designed to benefit both the brands represented as well as the new Mandarin Oriental. As more five-star resorts pack in to Sanya, Haikou and other parts of Hainan, any form of high-visibility promotion is key. As a Mandarin Oriental release hinted, the hotelier is hoping to equate its name with luxury in all its varied forms on Hainan island:
Synonymous with high end luxury, Mandarin Oriental's guest rooms are all luxuriously designed with touches of the local ethnic minority culture and offering panoramic views over the azure South China Sea. The journey is completed at the award-winning spa where guests will be utterly pampered in idyllic and serene surroundings. The Mandarin Oriental is an obvious partner for the glamorous event, elegantly mirroring the lavishness being showcased and providing the epitome of spacious accommodation and refined sophistication. Spread out over 12 hectares, the hideaway retreat is situated on an unspoiled nationally protected coral beach and nestled amongst lush tropical bloom providing peace and tranquility.
The exclusive event over the Easter weekend is being brought to China’s southernmost tropical island by China Rendez-Vous, the luxury marketing company, and Visun International Yacht Club, Hainan’s first international world class marina. Sanya will witness unprecedented luxury, and a guest list that reads like a who’s who of the luxury industry. The province has been enjoying rapid development since it gained Special Economic Zone (SEZ) status just over 20 years ago, and the premier tourist city of Sanya is now being billed as the ‘Chinese Riviera’. The alluring display of high end luxury products is designed to mark the spectacular inauguration of Sanya as a cruising centre for the South China Sea.
