“We want to go home. Send me home!”
The novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) rapidly spread on the island of Hainan, a representative tourist destination in China, which was in the peak season for summer vacation, and was shut down on the 6th. In particular, 80,000 tourists were isolated on the island. In Sanya, southern Hainan Island, the city apologized for the sudden lockdown and took action, but protests from tourists continue.
According to the state-run China Central Television (CCTV) on the 7th, the Sanya city authorities imposed a lockdown order for the entire city from 6 am the previous day. It banned the movement of citizens and tourists and ordered a COVID-19 gene amplification (PCR) test. All public transportation in the city as well as large shopping malls such as ‘Sanya International Duty Free’ have been suspended.
Travel to and from outside cities is also prohibited. According to CNN, as of the 6th, more than 80% of flights departing from Sanya have been canceled and all trains have been stopped. Vehicles heading out of the city were also stopped at checkpoints, local media reported. The authorities said, “It will be possible to leave the city only if a total of five PCR tests over seven days are negative.”
On social media such as China’s Weibo on that day, a video of dozens of tourists who could not return to their hometown due to flight cancellations at Sanya Airport in Hainan Province gathered to protest against authorities. According to the Financial Times (FT), some tourists slept on the floor of the airport terminal because they could not find accommodation. The hotel side showed an attitude to tourists who protested the lockdown without notice, saying, “If you have any complaints, complain to the government.”
In the Hainan region, Corona 19 is spreading the fastest in China recently. According to the authorities, the cumulative number of new confirmed cases in Hainan for one week from the 1st to the 7th was 1,140. In particular, on the 6th, the number of new confirmed cases per day reached a record high of 483, accounting for 56% of the total number of new cases in China (736).
It is also predicted that China’s tourism industry will contract again due to the lockdown. With many tourists visiting Hainan for duty-free benefits in a situation where overseas travel is strictly restricted due to COVID-19, the duty-free industry in this area has been booming. The FT predicts that the Chinese government’s efforts to revive the stagnant economy through tourism will take a hit again.
Reporter Kim Soo-hyun [email protected]