Sanya's Gambit: Aviation Rights Remap Euro-Asian Tourism Routes

BERLIN, GERMANY – March 03, 2026 – At the bustling 60th ITB Berlin travel trade show, the Chinese tropical city of Sanya has signaled a profound strategic shift, moving beyond its sun-and-sand appeal to architect a new role as a pivotal aviation and tourism hub connecting Europe and Central Asia. Through a series of key Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs), Sanya is leveraging unprecedented aviation policies to weave a complex network of air routes, market access, and tourism products, effectively aiming to redraw travel maps across the Eurasian continent.

The agreements, signed alongside Sanya Phoenix International Airport, bring together a diverse group of international partners: Kazakhstan's SCAT Airlines, Latvia’s Riga Airport, Uzbekistan's burgeoning Air Samarkand, and the influential Central and Eastern European online travel platform, Easy Booking. The coordinated effort marks a deliberate and systematic plan to transform Sanya from a well-known resort into a strategic gateway.

The 'Seventh Air Freedom' Revolution

Central to Sanya's ambitious strategy is its pioneering use of the 'Seventh Freedom of the Air,' a liberal aviation right that is exceptionally rare in China's tightly regulated airspace. This freedom allows a foreign airline to operate flights between two other foreign countries without needing to start or end the flight in its home nation. Sanya has become the first and only region in China to pilot this policy on a commercial scale.

The landmark example is the Sanya-Prague route, operated by Kazakhstan’s SCAT Airlines since 2025. This weekly service, utilizing a Boeing 737 MAX 9, represents China's inaugural scheduled passenger route exercising 'Seventh Air Freedom'. It allows a Kazakh carrier to directly connect a Chinese city with a European capital, a move widely seen as a watershed moment in China's aviation liberalization.

During the ITB Berlin event, Sanya moved to build on this success. A four-party memorandum was signed by the Sanya Tourism Board, Sanya Phoenix International Airport, SCAT Airlines, and Riga International Airport. This agreement aims to extend the 'Seventh Air Freedom' principle to develop route collaboration between Sanya and the Latvian capital. The initiative shows a clear intent to evolve from a single-point breakthrough into a networked system, creating a web of connectivity that covers the Baltic region and Central and Eastern Europe. As Laila Odina, CEO of Riga Airport, remarked, "Sanya's appeal lies not only in its climate and beaches, but also in its potential as a new gateway to the Chinese market."

Powered by the Hainan Free Trade Port

Sanya’s aviation gambit is not happening in a vacuum. It is the most visible manifestation of the sweeping economic policies underpinning the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP). The Chinese government's master plan, released in 2020, is designed to transform the entire island province into a globally competitive, high-level free trade zone. The FTP's policies are the engine making Sanya's hub ambitions possible.

Beyond the headline-grabbing aviation rights, the FTP offers a potent mix of incentives. Businesses in encouraged sectors, including tourism and modern services, benefit from a reduced corporate income tax rate of 15%, a significant discount from China's standard 25%. Furthermore, the island is on track for a full, island-wide customs closure by the end of 2025, which will usher in a zero-tariff system for a wide range of goods, materials, and equipment. These policies drastically lower the cost of doing business and create a hyper-competitive environment for airlines and tourism enterprises.

For travelers, the benefits are equally tangible. Nationals from 59 countries, including many in Europe, can already enter Hainan visa-free. The Sanya-Prague route, for instance, is paired with a policy allowing Czech passport holders to enter Hainan visa-free for 30 days, a powerful incentive that makes the destination a more seamless and attractive alternative to competing winter-sun locations in Southeast Asia or the Middle East.

Courting New Frontiers in Central Asia and Europe

While liberal policies provide the framework, Sanya's strategy is acutely focused on activating new and underserved source markets. The agreements signed in Berlin reveal a two-pronged offensive targeting both Central Asia and Central and Eastern Europe, regions with growing outbound tourism demand but historically limited direct access to southern China's tropical coastline.

The MOU with Air Samarkand of Uzbekistan is a forward-looking move to tap into a rapidly expanding market. Outbound tourism from Uzbekistan has seen double-digit growth, yet direct flights to resort destinations in Asia remain scarce. The partnership aims to co-develop products, optimize routes, and jointly promote Sanya, ensuring the city's offerings are tailored to the preferences of Central Asian travelers.

Simultaneously, Sanya is addressing the crucial challenge of market conversion in Europe. While new air routes solve the problem of "how to arrive," the partnership with Easy Booking tackles "how to convert" interest into actual bookings. On March 2nd, Sanya-based Hainan Selfie International Travel Agency signed an MOU with the leading Central and Eastern European online platform. This collaboration will leverage Easy Booking's deep regional expertise and distribution network to market Sanya's leisure, wellness, and resort products directly to high-value customers, effectively shortening the market education cycle and ensuring the new flights are filled.

From Tropical Resort to Strategic Aviation Hub

The series of agreements reveals a city and a province executing a sophisticated, multi-layered international strategy. By using 'Seventh Air Freedom' as a policy fulcrum, targeting Central Asia and Europe as growth markets, and partnering with airlines, airports, and online platforms, Sanya is constructing an integrated global marketing system.

"When a destination simultaneously develops air rights, routes, channels and events, it transcends being merely a coastal resort city to become a pivotal node within the regional tourism framework," noted Alexandr Bogenkov, Marketing Director of Easy Booking. This sentiment was echoed by a representative from the Sanya Tourism Board, who stated, "We are transforming from a single tourism destination into an aviation and tourism hub connecting China with Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia."

In Asia's intensely competitive tourism landscape, Sanya is differentiating itself not just with its world-class beaches and duty-free shopping, but with a systematic approach to global connectivity. As it prepares to host the 6th Asian Beach Games in 2026, the city is rapidly acquiring the infrastructure and international profile to match its ambitions. With these strategic moves, Sanya is not just inviting the world to its shores, but positioning itself as a central crossroads for a new era of Eurasian travel.