Singaporeans can now visit China's Hainan province for 30 days visa-free.

The catch? Quite a few. One of which is that there isn't much there that is attractive to international visitors.

What's the deal?

The latest move is an expansion from a 2000 policy aimed at attracting international visitors.

Currently, permitted tour groups from 21 countries can enter Hainan visa-free for up to two weeks. Singapore is already one of the countries.

This new move, however, lets individual travellers enter Hainan and extend the period of stay.

Absent from the latest list, though, are African countries, countries on the Indian subcontinent, as well as three members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean): Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

To be eligible for the 30-day visa-free travel, tourists will have to book their tours through accredited travel agencies.

Previously, they can only visit for 15 days visa-free if they arrive in tourist groups of five or more.

What is Hainan province?

Hainan is the smallest and southernmost province of China. It has Vietnam to the west and the Philippines to the east.

It has a long way to go to be an ideal tourist destination.

International tourist arrivals only crossed the one million mark in 2017.

The other travellers are domestic Chinese, who make up 60 million of arrivals that same year.

As comparison, Bali, which is one-sixth the size of Hainan, saw more than 5 million foreign visitors last year.

The current plan is to attract more visitors from Europe, United States, and Canada.

But there is still not much to do for international visitors as Hainan is a backwater.

What to do there?

You can check out this video for how it looks like on a non-glossy, everyday street level:

Because this is what they are trying to sell you:

China trying to attract more tourists

Hainan is often referred to as China's Hawaii, as it promotes its resorts and sandy beaches.

According to Xinhua News Agency, its international visitors are from Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Russia and Kazakhstan.

The 30-day visa-free policy starts from May 1, 2018, and is extended to 59 countries in total.

More direct flights will be planned to these countries with visa-free access, benefiting the local airlines.

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Hainan needs more money

China is also planning to legalise gambling in Hainan. It currently bans gambling and casinos on the mainland.

According to Bloomberg, the move comes at a time as the province faces a fiscal deficit, with HNA Group Co. -- its largest conglomerate -- suffering from debt woes.