Hainan is famed for its beautiful scenery. [Photo/IC]

International tourists hit a peak of 1 million in 2008 when the overall total number of tourists was 20 million, less than half the current total.

The number of domestic tourists to the island continues to increase at a much faster rate than those from abroad.

Yet a number of policies are in place to attract more international tourists, including visa-free entry for up to 15 days for tour groups of more than five from 26 specified countries.

One of the problems for the Hainan government is that it only has a limited annual tourism advertising budget of $2 million (1.81 million euros) - excluding what the cities spend - and this also has been squeezed in recent years.

The local government has been working with the BBC to build a special Hainan webpage, which is updated twice a month. It also cooperates similarly with TripAdvisor, the world's largest travel site.

In addition, it places billboard ads in the baggage reclaim areas of airports in key target countries such as Russia, Australia, Thailand and South Korea.

At a restaurant in the center of Haikou, Chen Tiejun, deputy director-general of the Hainan Tourism Development Commission, admits it is a challenge.

"We have to make better use of the money we have. We are also actually adjusting our strategy by doing more online marketing, which is more cost-effective," he says.

In London, Ben Briggs, marketing manager of Wendy Wu Tours UK, the leading China specialist tour operator, does believe some of this marketing is paying off.

"It (Hainan) is definitely becoming a bit more prominent in the UK. They (Hainan tourism officials) have been a little bit more proactive in terms of attending trade shows," he says.

"I think there is a big awareness problem about Hainan generally. Not many people know of it. It is definitely important for them to get tour operators on board to help them promote their messages."

Ed Robertson, consulting editor of the Travel Trade Gazette, a leading travel trade magazine, believes Hainan might have chosen the right time to promote itself as an international tourism destination.