Scenic spots ranked for their holiday services

Good performance praised; lackluster efforts singled out for improvement

The China National Tourism Administration released ratings on Sunday, listing the best and worst scenic spots, tourism agencies, tour guides and tourists during the National Day holiday.

The ratings are part of new efforts by the administration to strengthen supervision and management of the tourism market and to improve services offered by scenic spots and their staffs, to create a favorable environment for travelers during holidays, according to Xue Yaping, an administration official.

In the ratings, some attractions, including the Palace Museum in Beijing, the Nanshan Tourism Zone in Hainan province and the ancient town of Lijiang in Yunnan province, were praised for their management and smooth operation.

Other places, such as the ancient town of Taierzhuang in Shandong province, the Three Gorges Tourism Zone in Hubei province and Dujiangyan Scenic Area in Sichuan province, were credited for their contribution to the "tourism toilet revolution", an initiative sponsored by the administration to renovate public toilets at tourism destinations nationwide.

About 593 million trips were logged during the weeklong holiday, according to the administration.

"Thanks to effective measures taken by the tourism administration, departments at all levels and working staff, there were no serious disputes or accidents during the holiday," Xue said.

At the Beijing Zoo, which received 450,000 tourists during the holiday, for example, four people were fined 50 yuan ($7.50) each for feeding animals. It was the first time the zoo has issued tickets to tourists for that.

The administration also noted some "bad models", according to Peng Zhikai, director of the administration's supervision and regulation department. These included Shidu Scenic Spot in Beijing's Fangshan district, where tourists quarreled with working staff, and Longwangdong Scenic Spot in Hunan province, which was criticized for having dirty toilets, a lack of guidance for tourists and potential safety hazards.

"The administration has requested that these scenic spots rectify the situation, and we will track their progress," Peng said.

He added that the administration dealt with a total of 359 complaints related to tourism from Oct 1 to Oct 7. Almost half of those were related to scenic spots, while more than 100 were related to tourism agencies and tour guides, Peng said.