Hainan Issues 18 Measures to Strengthen Sea-Use Support for Marine Tourism

Key points

• The Opinions were issued by Hainan's Department of Natural Resources and Planning together with the provincial finance, agriculture and rural affairs, and tourism, culture, radio, television and sports departments, setting out 18 specific measures.
• The Opinions took effect on September 15 and are valid for five years.
• For marine tourism sea use, the document further regulates sea-use management for diving, yacht marinas and commercial bathing beaches, clarifies the term for diving sea-use grants, and sets an ecological threshold for coral coverage.
• It strictly protects the public-resource nature of beaches and prohibits private enclosure and illegal occupation of beaches.
• It refines regulation of tourism sea use, strictly controlling diving site rotation frequency and visitor carrying capacity to avoid over-development damaging the marine ecology.