Tourism is booming in the world's largest country, but national tourist sites are struggling to attract a steady stream of visitors.
Experts say that hefty entrance fees are one of the biggest issues that prevent people from visiting tourist attractions across the country. In January, China National Tourism Administration announced plans to accredit ticket pricing policies at national tourist sites across the country. The organization has vowed to dedicate resources to support the best-rated sites yearly.
A report by Xinhua reveals that the Lushan Conference Hall in Jiangxi Province has been getting more visitors after the entrance fee to the historic building was reduced earlier in the year.
While previously visitors to the Jiangxi Mountains had to pay an extra fee to access the Lushan Conference Hall, now the overall fee to visit the mountain and the hall has been reduced.
Experts believe that such moves may help boost the number of inbound tourists in China. Last year, the number of inbound tourists to the country decreased slightly from 129 million in 2013 to 128 million in 2014. Meanwhile, the number of outbound tourists has increased tremendously, reaching up to 100 million for the first time in 2014.
Chinese authorities have sought to counter this trend by improving the value of national tourist attractions. Last week, China Tourism Administration announced that the operation licenses issued to up to 44 tourist sites across the country have been revoked due to irregularities.
China Tourism Administration rates the country's tourist sites on a scale in which 5A represent the highest rating, and 2A the lowest. Most of the sites shut down by the authorities recently had been rated as 3A and 2A, according to local sources.
Reports indicate that authorities have also issued warnings to some tourist sites rated 5A.
Meanwhile, China Tourism Administration has revoked the licenses of up to 12 travel agencies and ordered several others to stop working temporarily while an internal rectification is completed.