Four Points by Sheraton in Sanya, South China's Hainan province. A recent survey covering prices paid in China by all travelers shows that the tourism market in the southern tropical city of Sanya will grow exponentially over the years in line with the local government plans to make it a global tropical island resort destination by 2020. [Provided to China Daily]

Sanya, a city in South China's Hainan province, continued to be highest paid tourism destination in China amongst all travelers, followed by Chengdu and Xi'an, according to a recent survey conducted by a leading online hotel booking system.

The Hotel.com's recent survey covering prices paid in China by all travelers shows that average hotel rates in 2012 remained more or less flat at 695 yuan ($112).

The survey noted that the tourism market in the southern tropical city of Sanya will grow exponentially over the years in line with the local government plans to make it a global tropical island resort destination by 2020. According to the survey, the city's daily hotel prices were the highest at an average rate of 1,165 yuan, despite a 15 percent decline over the previous year.

Lower demand from Chinese tourists was one of the main reasons why hotel rates in Sanya remained low last year, said Jessica Chuang, senior marketing manager, Greater China of Hotel.com Asia Pacific.

In 2012, nearly 11.02 million tourists visited Sanya, an 8 percent growth over 2011, while tourism revenues grew by 11 percent over 2011 to 19.2 billion yuan.

Two other popular destinations - Chengdu, home of the giant pandas in Sichuan province and Xi'an with its world-renowned Terracotta Warriors - saw slight decreases in tourist inflows.