Xi'an cracks down on tourism ticket scalping

Five individuals have been detained and an additional four have been subjected to administrative penalties by local police for illegal ticket scalping in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, as reported by Shaanxi's Huashang Daily on Monday.

As a popular tourist destination, Xi'an has welcomed a large number of tourists this summer. Unfortunately, due to the high demand, certain attractions like the Shaanxi History Museum have faced difficulties accommodating all tourists and some have been unable to secure tickets.

After a preliminary investigation, local government found a discrepancy between the number of daily visitors and the number of bookings. Moreover, some scalpers were found illegally reselling scenic spot tickets for profit.

In response, local police launched a 60-day special campaign to crack down on ticket scalping in scenic spots in the city.

According to the police investigation, tourists can visit the Shaanxi History Museum for free but they must reserve tickets in advance by registering their names through the WeChat mini program. Each mobile phone number can book tickets for up to five people for the next seven days.

One scalper strategy involved chatting up tourists before offering to help them get tickets. They would then charge the tourists between 50 yuan ($6.87) and 200 yuan per ticket. Once the fee was received, the scalpers would get their ID information and use multiple mobile phone numbers to book a single party.

At the same time, some travel agencies sold their tourism products as a package with tickets by taking advantage of signing a ticketing cooperation agreement with the museum.

Police of Yanta district's police bureau have detained four suspects involved in ticket scalping at the museum and subjected an addtional four people to administrative penalties.

During the campaign, local police also detained a separate suspect who resold tickets in other scenic spots in the city.