Wedding bells: honeymoon sector booms as lovebirds flock to make most of the resorts

A romantic atmosphere and great weather have made Sanya a natural destination for weddings, and this travel sector is booming.

Last year, “300,000 people came to Sanya for weddings and honeymoons, including 10,000 who took wedding photos and 1,500 who held wedding ceremonies in the hotels here”, says Timothy Bruce, general manager, Grand Hyatt Sanya Haitang Bay Resort and Spa.

With lovebirds eager to go on a spree, it’s no wonder that “the market is prosperous and we perceive it as one of our key market segments”, Bruce says.

Couples flock to Sanya because the ceremony “takes place in one of the most beautiful and unspoiled settings on the shores of the South China Sea”, says Ulf Pauschardt, general manager of the Sheraton Sanya Resort at Yalong Bay.

A typical wedding here includes a dedicated photographer and an event planner who coordinate a ceremony on “an outside lawn, preferably with ocean views”, a wedding chapel and a honeymoon suite, says Julian Wong, general manager of the Sanya Marriott Hotel Dadonghai Bay.

A wedding party commonly spreads over “two nights, a ceremony and a dinner party with an average size of 80 to 100 people”, according to Christophe Hazebrouck, area general manager for Accor Hotels in Hainan (Luxury and Upscale Brands) and general manager of Sofitel Sanya Leeman Resort.