Zhu Yingliang is one of many small-business owners likely to benefit from a rise in the number of international tourists visiting Hainan. The 53-year-old runs the Zhongyuan Yuantai Mini Market in Zhongyuan town in Qionghai, central Hainan.

"We've started to see an increase in the number of visitors during the past three years, particularly from the mainland," he said. "We have also seen a rise in the number of foreign tourists from Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, and we stock a wide range of items for them, such as coffee."

Li Bing, 26, works in her parents' cafe, the Changrong Tea House, also in Zhongyuan, and also earns up to 2,000 yuan ($322) a month by working at the local visitors' center.

She said opinion is divided in parts of the island, with some people believing the local government should invest more in healthcare, not just tourism, given that local wages are lower than in the mainland.

"I think that although the main resorts of Sanya and Haikou benefit most from tourism, it also boosts businesses inland. Local businesses get revenue and jobs are created."

Wu Jieguang, 64, who has run the eponymous Wu Jieguang TCM clinic in Zhongyuan, said it is sometimes difficult for some local businesses to serve foreign tourists.

"I don't speak English, so I would have to hire someone with English skills for it to work. Whether we make that investment really depends on how many foreign tourists there are," he said.

China Daily