China's southern province of Hainan will offer foreigners unrestricted internet access to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube as part of new incentives to boost tourism.

The island province known as China's Hawaii because of its balmy climate and resort-lined coastline, will create a special "gathering zone" for foreign tourists where they can access such sites. Hainan's provincial government detailed the plan on its website Thursday.

The move would mark a rare departure from China's long-held stance on the internet, where many foreign websites are banned in the name of maintaining social stability, a restriction dubbed by netizens as the "Great Firewall."