Tourist sites told to keep entry fees reasonable

The central government is against high entry fees for tourist attractions and bans redundant ticket charges, a senior official said, as reports of possible entry fee hikes at many scenic spots have raised public concern.

Wu Wenxue, director of the planning, development and finance department of China's National Tourism Administration, said on Saturday that local tourism departments nationwide have been fully informed that excessive price increases should be banned, and that no fees should be charged in addition to admission tickets.

In China, it is common for tourist attractions to raise entry fees from May to October, which is "peak tourist season".

Around the end of April, news that more than 20 tourist attractions would raise entry fees by 20 to 60 percent during peak season sparked an angry outpouring online.

More than 1.5 million posts at Sina Weibo, China's biggest micro blog service, appeared on the topic of tourist attractions' price increases.

A widely circulated post said that admission to Zhangjiajie, a famous scenic attraction in Central China's Hunan province, is three times that of the Louvre Museum in France.

It also said that the price of Jiuzhaigou in Southwest China's Sichuan province almost equals the combined costs of Yellowstone Park in the United States, the Taj Mahal in India and Mount Fuji in Japan.

"It's shortsighted and foolish for some local tourism departments to raise prices blindly," said Wang Jianjun, head of the tourism bureau of Wuxi in East China's Jiangsu province.

"It will harm local tourism and reduce revenue in the long run," Wang said. "Compared with consumption related to shopping, transportation and accommodation, ticket prices shouldn't be relied on."

Wang made the comment on Saturday in Wuxi at a news conference held to mark China Tourism Day, which falls on May 19.

"We celebrate China Tourism Day in the hope of stimulating people's passion for traveling and creating a friendly environment for tourists," said Wang Zhifa, deputy director of the National Tourism Administration.

Cities around the country held activities to celebrate the day. In Shanghai on Saturday, a 50 percent discount was offered at 40 tourist attractions. In Wuxi, a similar discount for tourists will be offered for a whole week.

"To meet Chinese people's growing demand for travel, tourism departments need to improve service and reduce reliance on ticket sales, which have accounted for an unreasonable percentage of their income," said Wang Jianjun from the Wuxi tourism bureau.

According to the National Tourism Administration, income from ticket sales accounts on average for 43 percent of the total income of China's tourist attractions.

The China Tourism Academy predicts that in 2012, income from domestic tourism industry will hit 2.1 trillion yuan ($332 billion), up 11 percent compared with last year. The number of domestic tourist visits will reach 2.86 billion.

Contact the writers at cangwei@chinadaily.com.cn and Songwenwei@chinadaily.com.cn