Sanya is located in Hainan, the only tropical island province in China. The local administration will use the Volvo Ocean Race as part of its plans to develop the city into a top international tourism destination.
"The wonderful memories from the last edition of the race when it visited Qingdao remain fresh in our minds and I would like to congratulate Sanya for being chosen as the new stopover," Liu Gang, Deputy Director of the China Water Sports Administration Centre said in a release.
"Sanya is honoured to be the only stopover in Asia for the next race. The city will relish the chance to show its charm to the Volvo Ocean Race visitors from around the world," added the Vice Mayor of Sanya, Li Baiqing.
Baiqing also confirmed that Hainan would showcase its achievements and development potential and try to capture the world's attention during the event.
"The race was held very successfully in Qingdao and has inspired a passion among many Chinese people. It is with great pleasure that we are able to confirm that China will once again be part of the route for 2011-12 and it will be an honour to take the event to Sanya," commented Volvo Ocean Race CEO, Knut Frostad.
The entire route for this classic round the world race will be revealed by the end of March, when details on scoring, leg lengths and other details will be confirmed.
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