Raise ticket prices reasonably

In 2007, the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's highest planning body, issued a regulation allowing scenic spots to raise ticket prices every three years, but without setting the upper limits or recommending public hearings to decide the extent of the price rise. It is time this regulation is revised to better regulate ticket prices.

It is also time that scenic spot managements realized that higher ticket prices do not necessarily mean higher income. The success of a scenic spot depends primarily on tourist footfalls, and high ticket prices could chase tourists away.

Some volunteers have already launched online campaigns by listing the top 50 scenic spots that have raised ticket prices and asking tourists to oppose their moves. Such tourist spots should take measures to repair their public image to attract tourists back.

Scenic spots should take smart measures to increase business. For example, they can develop related service industries and benefit from their success, just like the Xihu Lake in Zhejiang province has done. The lake's management decided in 2003 to allow visitors free entry and depend on the booming business of the shopping malls, hotels and restaurants nearby to make profit. In fact, the Xihu Lake has become a successful commercial zone.

In other words, scenic spots could raise their ticket prices, but while doing so they should follow strict procedures and ensure that the increase is reasonable for ordinary people. Also, they should provide better tourist services and adopt successful business modes to increase their profits, instead of charging people more money to just enter a place.

The author is vice-director of the Tourism Research Center at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The article is an excerpt from his interview with China Daily's Zhang Zhouxiang.