Tickets to tourist spots expensive

People have been complaining against the high prices of tickets to scenic spots in the country. But tickets to tourist spots in Hubei, Yunnan and Shandong provinces were reduced during the Labor Day holiday, which came as a pleasant surprise to the public, says an article in People's Daily. Excerpts:

Compared with other countries, tickets to tourist spots in China are high. For example, people have to pay three times more to enter Zhangjiajie in Hunan province than what they pay to visit the Louvre Museum in France. And a ticket to Jiuzhaigou Valley in Sichuan province costs 100 yuan ($16.19) more than that needed to visit Yellowstone National Park in the United States, the Taj Mahal in India and Mount Fuji in Japan.

People have been urging the government to lower the prices of tickets because natural and scenic spots in China are not commercial tourist destinations like the Disneyland and they want every Chinese to enjoy the pleasure of visiting them.

Since the government cannot bear all the expenses for the upkeep of the country's tourist spots, it has to levy some charges on people visiting them. But it has to strike a balance between revenue and tourists' interests.

Perhaps the West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, is a good example to follow, because tourism revenue increased four times after entry to the scenic spot was made free in 2003.

Local governments have to overcome their greed of making quick money and instead think of making gains in the long term from the tourism industry. This will create a win-win situation for the governments and tourists.

(China Daily 05/02/2013 page9)