Top rated scenic spots urged to regulate service

First top-rated tourist attraction has had its accreditation removed after an undercover investigation during the National Day holiday.

According to the National Tourism Administration, an inspection team was sent to do investigations on 5A-rated scenic spots. It was mainly focused on those that received the most complaints from tourists. Inspections found that many popular destinations failed to maintain standards.

The scenic spot of Shanhaiguan Pass in Qinhuangdao city in North China's Hebei province was the first one to have its 5A rating being removed.

The administration said the scenic spot has problems in overpricing, poor management on environment and facility maintenance, as well as bad service mainly result of lack of staff members.

China adopts a five-tier tourist rating based on criteria such as the importance of the site, transportation and sanitation. The highest rating is 5A and has to be award by the administration, while ratings of 4A and below can be given by provincial tourism authorities.

Another six popular 5A tourist attractions including Lijiang ancient town of Yunnan province, Xixi wetlands of Hangzhou and the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai were given a warning and required rectification. The warnings on nine top-rated scenic spots in April were removed after they improved their service.

Peng Decheng, director of the National Tourism Administration's planning and finance department, said ratings will keep changing based on the inspection of scenic spots.

"5A-rating is the best tourism brand in China. We will not loosen management on 5A scenic spots," said Peng. "In the future, we will urge scenic spots to provide better service to tourists by giving out warnings or removing their ratings."

suzhou@chinadaily.com.cn