Scenic areas struck off tourism rankings

Fifty-five places in China have been stripped of their status as a national 4A-grade scenic area after an inspection conducted by China National Tourism Administration.

The inspections began at the start of the second half of the year and have focused on identifying problems with management and services, such as safety, sanitary conditions of the toilets and infrastructure.

Apart from kicking some scenic areas out of the 4A-grade group, the administration also gave warnings to some scenic areas and lowered the ranking of some others.

"This is a thorough inspection, which exhibits the administration's determination to fight against misbehaviors in the management of scenic areas and the services they provide, and will help improve the overall standard of China's tourism industry," The administration's Peng Decheng said.

Under the national standard used to classify China's scenic areas, 4A-grade is the second top ranking for tourist attractions, while those ranked 5A are the country's best and world-class attractions.

According to Peng, scenic areas that have lost their 4A ranking have to make things right and then apply for the ranking afresh. China National Tourism Administration will appraise them to decide whether to issue the 4A-grade again.

Peng also said the administration was working with other national departments to draft a series of revised administrative standards and regulations to measure and rank scenic areas across the country.

"We believe that these actions will make a contribution to a better order of the domestic tourism market and tourists will definitely benefit from the actions," Peng said.