Ticket price rises reduce appeal of scenic spots

The just-concluded weeklong National Day holiday proved once again to be a tourism feast for vacationing Chinese, but many expressed anger at the considerable rise in entry fees to many domestic scenic spots and questioned the legitimacy of such price hikes, which has raised concerns about the sustainability of the country's booming but fledging tourism sector.

According to a recent report published by the Tourism Research Center under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the average price for admission to nearly 200 top-grade scenic sites nationwide is more than 100 yuan ($16.3) after several rounds of price rises in recent years. Yulong Snow Mountain in Yunnan province, for example, raised its ticket price in May from 105 yuan to 130 yuan, and Danxia Mountain in Guangdong province raised its ticket price to 200 yuan on Sept 1, from the former 160 yuan in low seasons and 180 yuan in peak seasons.

It is reported that the gross profit for some scenic sites exceeds 60 percent, even higher than that of the real estate market.