High hotel rates scare off tourists

Scalpers who bought Hainan bookings suffer massive losses

Skyrocketing hotel rates in Hainan province during the Spring Festival holiday scared away tourists and tainted Hainan's image as "China's Hawaii", travel experts said.

Hainan, China's tropical southern island, attracted a record number of tourists seeking leisure or investment opportunities during the Spring Festival holiday. But hotels in Sanya, a city in Hainan, only had a 60 percent occupancy rate, down from 90 percent in previous years, travel experts said.