China Customs' Study of Strong Nation Number: Ningbo Airport Port Duty Free Consumption Continues to Rise, Customs Efficient Supervision Fuels Spring Festival Shopping Trend

Customs officers from Ningbo Airport, under the jurisdiction of Ningbo Customs, conducted inspections at the exit duty-free shops at the port. Hongyang/Photo
Author: Dai Lulu
Recently, there has been a continuous stream of passengers purchasing goods at the exit duty-free shop in Terminal 2 of Ningbo Lishe International Airport. The shelves are filled with a dazzling array of tobacco, alcohol, bags, and other goods, showcasing consumer vitality. Mr. Zhang, who is preparing to visit Singapore, is carefully selecting his desired products in the store after completing the exit procedures. Here, the brand is complete, the price is more affordable than at the counter, and you can even bring it directly on the plane, it's so convenient! "With his flight ticket and passport information, he successfully purchased two bottles of domestic wine.
In recent years, the number of inbound and outbound passengers at Ningbo Airport has continued to increase. According to statistics, in 2025, Ningbo Airport Customs supervised a total of 1.0711 million inbound and outbound passengers, setting a new high in six years. The significant rebound in passenger flow has injected strong momentum into the recovery of the duty-free industry at ports. In 2025, our store sales reached 6.94 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 94.27%, "said Li Lei, Business Manager of Ningbo Airport Duty Free Products Co., Ltd. of China Duty Free Group." Since January 2026, duty-free consumption has continued to heat up, further enhancing our confidence
In order to assist duty-free shops at the port in seizing the peak sales season of the Spring Festival, Ningbo Airport Customs actively provides advanced services, connects with enterprise sales needs in advance, guides the handling of duty-free goods transfer and import customs declaration and warehousing procedures, and achieves "immediate inspection and release". With the support of customs, all of our duty-free goods have basically been transferred, stored, and put on shelves on the same day of arrival, "said Li Lei.
In order to reduce the need for businesses to run errands and save time, we actively coordinate with the local customs to fully achieve paperless transfer of duty-free goods from 2026. The most time-consuming transfer process in the past can now be processed in seconds on the system, and businesses no longer need to submit paper materials, "said Hong Yang, Deputy Director of the Customs and Travel Inspection Department at Ningbo Airport.
By 2025, Ningbo Airport Customs will ensure the rapid transfer and storage of 5 batches and over 30000 tax-free items, ensuring sufficient supply of over 400 popular goods such as tobacco, alcohol, luggage, etc., effectively meeting the shopping needs of passengers.