Hainan has a long way to go on its way to becoming a world-class tourist resort, said a tourist expert from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).

It took about 20 or even 30 years before current top island resorts became mature, said Zhang Guangrui, director of the Tourism Research Center under CASS.

Zhang also said the government should understand that there is still a big gap between Hainan and mature islands in the Mediterranean and Caribbean seas, nor is it competitive with other Southeast Asian island resorts.

Hainan's government should be objective in analyzing Hainan's tourism competitiveness and make serious considerations about the local community's role and interests as they develop the island province into an international tourist destination, said Zhang.

Zhang pointed out that the index used to estimate the tourism potential of a place takes into account not only its regional and resource advantages, but its infrastructure, market influence, local attitudes toward tourists and the government's ability to govern.

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