Pingtan's tourism revenue in the first quarter of 2016 rose to the highest in its history, reaching 101 million yuan ($15.6 million), up 68.33 percent year-on-year, according to local tourism authorities.

The zone received a total of 263,700 tourists during the period, an increase of 25.04 percent compared to the same period in the previous year.

The boom in tourism has been attributed to the government's emphasis on boosting the tourism industry. President Xi Jinping mentioned building an international tourist island in Pingtan during his inspection of the zone in November 2014. Echoing this call, local government leaders have rolled out many measures to boost its tourism in the region.

Here are some of the highlights of the policies.

Incentives to attract tourism professionals

Pingtan launched a series of incentives to attract talented personnel in tourism. For instance, people who take part in the National Examination for Tour Guides in Pingtan and get the primary tour guide certificate can obtain a subsidy of 1,000 yuan ($154), and those who get the intermediate certificate are entitled to 2,000 yuan.

Policies to allow setting up foreign-funded travel agencies

Since June 1, 2015, the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone has been approved to set up foreign-funded or Sino-foreign joint travel agencies. The Fujian Tianhai International Travel Agency in Pingtan, Fujian province became the first travel agency in the zone partly funded by an overseas investor.

The company, a joint venture by Fujian Liang'an International Travel Agency and the Taiwan Tianhai Travel Agency, obtained its business license on June 9. It aimed to introduce Taiwan's advanced management modes and service, and bring in Taiwan's tour guides and other staff to help promote Pingtan.

Special fund to support key tourism projects

Pingtan authorities have planned to grant a special tourism fund of 100 million yuan per year and will add more if needed. Tourism projects that have investment of more than 1 billion yuan will also get stronger financial support from the government.

To ensure the reasonable use of the fund, the authorities created a supporting guideline for the fund.

Tax refunds for overseas tourists

The Pingtan Aoqian High-speed Passenger Terminal is one of the first five ports that are allowed to offer tax refunds to overseas buyers in Fujian province, according to the tax refund policy that came into effect on Jan 1, 2016.

The policy stipulates that tourists from overseas, as well as those from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan who stay on the Chinese mainland for no more than 183 days, will be eligible for an 11 percent rebate on consumer goods bought at designated stores.