Resort's rocketing prices dampen holiday spirits
Source: Xinhua |
January 31, 2012, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
MORE than a million tourists swarmed to south China's Hainan Province for the Lunar New Year holiday, pouring millions of dollars into the tropical resort island. But many of them say they spent too much.
According to Hainan's tourism office, the island brought in more than 4.3 billion yuan (US$676 million) in tourism-related revenue during the Spring Festival holiday from January 22 to 28, up by 61 percent year on year.
However, tens of thousands of tourists have gone online to vent their frustration regarding overcharging and scammers who had supposedly fleeced the island's visitors.
Luo Di, president of a Beijing-based real estate agency, said a simple three-course meal cost his friend 4,000 yuan at a restaurant in Sanya, a coastal city at the southern tip of Hainan.
"My friend told me he only asked the price of the fish without ordering it. But the restaurant's owner immediately cooked the fish and charged him 1,160 yuan per kilogram," Luo said in a post on Sina Weibo.
Luo's post was forwarded more than 40,000 times before he deleted it on Sunday.
Mounting pressure online resulted in a response from Sanya's information office which said the seafood restaurant where Luo's friend dined had been asked to close while its pricing practices are investigated.
Hainan was also slammed for soaring accommodation prices, with one hotel said to be charging six times the normal rate.
Wang Jiansheng, chairman of the Hainan tourism research board, said local authorities should toughen regulations and mete out more severe penalties to those who fleece tourists.
Wu Kunxiong, deputy director of the Hainan Tourism Commission, admitted there were many complaints, as prices regularly skyrocket during the holiday season, particularly in Sanya.
Wu said the problems could be attributed to "inadequate facilities," but agreed the tourism industry needed reform.
According to Hainan's tourism office, the island brought in more than 4.3 billion yuan (US$676 million) in tourism-related revenue during the Spring Festival holiday from January 22 to 28, up by 61 percent year on year.
However, tens of thousands of tourists have gone online to vent their frustration regarding overcharging and scammers who had supposedly fleeced the island's visitors.
Luo Di, president of a Beijing-based real estate agency, said a simple three-course meal cost his friend 4,000 yuan at a restaurant in Sanya, a coastal city at the southern tip of Hainan.
"My friend told me he only asked the price of the fish without ordering it. But the restaurant's owner immediately cooked the fish and charged him 1,160 yuan per kilogram," Luo said in a post on Sina Weibo.
Luo's post was forwarded more than 40,000 times before he deleted it on Sunday.
Mounting pressure online resulted in a response from Sanya's information office which said the seafood restaurant where Luo's friend dined had been asked to close while its pricing practices are investigated.
Hainan was also slammed for soaring accommodation prices, with one hotel said to be charging six times the normal rate.
Wang Jiansheng, chairman of the Hainan tourism research board, said local authorities should toughen regulations and mete out more severe penalties to those who fleece tourists.
Wu Kunxiong, deputy director of the Hainan Tourism Commission, admitted there were many complaints, as prices regularly skyrocket during the holiday season, particularly in Sanya.
Wu said the problems could be attributed to "inadequate facilities," but agreed the tourism industry needed reform.
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