Scenic spots are an important link in the tourism industry and consumption chain, and in the accelerated period of tourism recovery after the epidemic, the prices of scenic spots should not be allowed to be excessively volatile.
In recent years, the prices of tourist attractions have been somewhat dizzying. First, the public welfare cultural and museum venues are open for free, and the scenic spots built by using public resources are subject to low ticket prices, which are praised, such as 15 yuan for the Temple of Heaven in Beijing and 30 yuan for the Summer Palace in the peak tourist season; Second, the price of scenic spots in some places is rising in disguise or hidden, and some hard expenses reach 400-500 yuan (tickets, tickets, ropeway tickets), and some tourists have to find the so-called "flat" scenic spots; Third, the price reduction of scenic spots is no longer exclusive to the marketization in the off-season, and in some places it has also been affected by administrative orders, and most of the scenic spots in the provinces and cities will be free of charge with a piece of paper, hoping to attract the surging flow of tourists.
People of insight in the industry believe that scenic spots are an important link in the tourism industry and consumption chain, and in the accelerated period of tourism recovery after the epidemic, the price of scenic spots should not be allowed to be excessively volatile. In late June, the Sichuan Provincial Development and Reform Commission issued the "Notice on Strengthening the Price Management of Scenic Spots" (Chuan Fa Gai Price [2024] No. 275), which made a series of provisions on strengthening the price management of scenic spots, reaffirmed the principle spirit and procedural requirements of scenic spot pricing, and made clear requirements and regulatory norms for some of the current chaos in scenic spot pricing, which is of very positive practical significance to ensure the accelerated recovery of the current tourism industry.
First, reiterate the pricing mechanism and principles of scenic spots
There are two mechanisms for the pricing of tickets and services in scenic spots: one is to implement the government-guided price for the ticket prices of scenic spots for the construction of public resources and the transportation services in the scenic spots that have a monopoly and are generally needed by tourists; First, the price of tickets for man-made scenic spots (points) and transportation services in scenic spots that are not built by commercial investment and are subject to market regulation.
The implementation of the government's guidance price of scenic spots, mainly the use of scenic spots, nature reserves, cultural relics protection units, national parks, natural parks and other public resources construction, its ticket prices and scenic area transportation services (including sightseeing cars, ferries, cableways, cable cars, cruises, elevators, etc.) price of the formulation or adjustment, emphasizing "adhere to the public welfare attributes, to compensate for reasonable operating costs, to maintain the overall balance of revenue and expenditure as the pricing principle", overall consideration of functional positioning, service quality, investment scale, social affordability and other factors, Strictly verify the ticket price of the scenic spot.
Scenic spots that require the implementation of government-guided prices should put the public welfare attribute in the first place, and the pricing should mainly consider compensating reasonable operating costs, maintaining an overall balance between revenue and expenditure, and taking into account many comprehensive factors. Such a pricing principle is obviously different from the market-oriented market-based market, and is not simply a consideration of corporate perspectives and corporate interests. Once this fare is determined, it is considered a "maximum price", and even if it needs to be adjusted again, it means that it can only be reduced. Controlling the prices of these scenic spots with resource monopoly will also grasp the main contradiction in the pricing of scenic spots, which will be of great benefit to promoting the price of scenic spots from chaos to order.
Second, state the scope of free and beneficial scenic spots
The notice states the price reduction and benefit scope of the scenic spot. There are two main aspects:
One aspect is to make it clear that the three types of scenic spots are free of charge. The first is an urban leisure park that is closely related to the daily life of residents; Second, in addition to cultural relics and heritage museums, public museums and memorial halls managed by cultural and cultural relics departments at all levels; The third is the scenic spots included in the patriotic education demonstration base and various exhibitions held for the purpose of patriotic education. These three types of scenic spots should fully reflect the public welfare and be open to the public free of charge; Among them, if the urban leisure park does not have the conditions for free for the time being, the ticket price shall be determined from the lowest.
The second aspect is to announce the number of people who are eligible for the fare reduction. Mainly: children, minors, full-time undergraduate students or below; Seniors aged 65 or above; Active-duty soldiers, retired military cadres and retired non-commissioned officers (non-commissioned officers), disabled soldiers, martyrs' families, survivors of servicemen who died in the line of duty, and survivors of servicemen who died of illness; National comprehensive fire and rescue team in-service, retired, disabled personnel and fire and rescue college students; For the disabled, the admission fee to the scenic spot will be reduced or reduced. In addition, disabled soldiers, people's police, and fire and rescue personnel can be treated at half price when taking transportation in the scenic area with the corresponding certificates. Religious professionals and their staff members belonging to religious activity sites in the scenic area, clergy of the same religion as the religious activity sites in the scenic area, or believers of the same religion holding valid certificates (such as refuge certificates of Buddhist and Taoist believers, layman certificates, etc.), can be exempted from admission fees if they enter the scenic spot to go to the religious activity sites with valid certificates.
Third, strict pricing and price adjustment procedures for scenic spots
The key to maintaining the price order of a regional scenic spot lies in daily supervision and strict pricing and price adjustment procedures.
The circular requires that the local price authorities should cooperate closely with the cultural tourism, market supervision and other departments, establish and improve the mechanism of consultation, joint interviews, law enforcement cooperation, etc., strengthen market monitoring, pay close attention to social public opinion, respond to the concerns of the masses in a timely manner, form a joint force in the supervision of the tourism market, and maintain a good price order in the tourism market.
For the pricing and price adjustment of scenic spots, the relevant procedural requirements are reiterated. The first is to formulate or adjust the price of scenic tickets and transportation services in the scenic spot managed by the government's guiding price, and the scenic spot should submit the following materials in a timely manner: relevant qualification materials for the scenic spot; The basic situation of the scenic spot, the new scenic spot should provide construction investment, operation management and other relevant information; The review opinions of the cultural and tourism department on the above materials; The basis and reason for price formulation or adjustment, and the amount and range of price adjustment; Analysis of the economic and social impact of price setting or adjustment; Other information deemed necessary by the price authority. Second, in accordance with the pricing authority, the pricing department shall perform the procedures of pricing cost investigation, price hearing, legality review, collective deliberation, price decision and timely announcement to the public, etc., before the price can be priced. The third is the price adjustment (price increase and price reduction) of the relevant scenic spots, and the government pricing procedures should also be strictly implemented, and the adjustment of ticket prices should be announced to the public 6 months in advance.
Fourth, clarify the policy boundaries of scenic spot pricing
Now some scenic spots charge high fees, tickets are only one of the aspects, and some prices are not very high, the main problem lies in the "ingenuity" of the service link, and the price increase of the ride. The most obvious and common is in the monopoly and tourists generally need to take the transportation services in the scenic area, including sightseeing cars, ferries, cableways, cable cars, cruise ships, elevators, etc., as well as blind spots or ambiguous areas when calculating operating costs.
The notice clarifies a number of policy boundaries: first, the means of transportation in the scenic area, the supporting parking lot to the gate of the scenic spot, except for the need to take a unified ride due to safety, environmental protection, etc., shall not be mandatory for tourists to take and charge; Second, the need to charge must be in accordance with the prescribed procedures, submit sufficient materials, price review and publicity, for refusal to provide the cost supervision or cost investigation required information, or provide false information, incomplete information, the pricing department can suspend the cost supervision or cost investigation, in accordance with the principle of low cost approval; The third is to clarify that the supporting parking lot of the scenic spot has the characteristics of public welfare, and charges are charged in accordance with the guidance of motor vehicle parking services, and the government pricing management is implemented; Fourth, the accounting of the pricing cost of the scenic spot that implements the government's guidance price should be strictly limited to the reasonable expenditure required to maintain the normal operation of the scenic spot within the scope of the scenic spot, and the expenditure on contracting the right to operate the scenic spot, the appraised part of the scenic spot assets, and the cost of illegal construction of fences and other facilities shall not be included in the cost of tickets. For example, in order to prevent tourists from peeping without buying tickets, some scenic spots with large areas have installed shielding fences at some points, and this kind of expenses may not be included in the cost.
Due to the wide range of pricing supervision in scenic spots, the issuance of documents is only the beginning, and the follow-up implementation is still a long way, and it is expected to have a positive impact in a deeper and broader field. The first is whether the price limit and price control can be effective. It is not only to look at the implementation of the document, but also to compare it with other provinces and cities. Taking the Badaling Great Wall in Beijing as an example, the ticket is 40 yuan in the peak season, the ticket + aerial cableway/ground cable car (choose one of the two), the price of a two-way ride is 180 yuan, and the one-way ride is 140 yuan. If it is a scenic spot of similar type, quality and scale, the price should not be too different from each other, and if the price is lowered or lower after strengthening supervision, then the price supervision will be effective. Second, whether it can form a national demonstration effect. Sichuan Province to strengthen the price management of scenic spots, aimed at the problems and phenomena with universality, whether the provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government) can actively respond and take action, in order to form an industry climate and a new situation. Third, whether the price adjustment of the scenic spot can be prompted also needs to be carried out in accordance with the law. Judging from the practice of free or reduced prices in some local administrative directives in the past two years, it has not only disrupted the legal procedures and balance of interests in the pricing of scenic spots, and caused gaps or flaws in the administration according to law, but also boosted the unhealthy competition in the order of the national tourism market, and even endangered the preservation of state-owned assets in public resource scenic spots. It is hoped that the notice of Sichuan to strengthen the price management of scenic spots can be persuaded and admonished on the above practices. Fourth, can there be a warning for the construction of new scenic spots? Some cities and counties are developed and constructed by government platform companies, and the goal is to focus on making money, rather than giving much consideration to public welfare. Sichuan strengthens the notice of scenic spot price management, emphasizing the principle of scenic spot pricing and classification supervision, it is best to have some enlightenment and even warning to various places, so that the development of scenic spots as a kind of delusion of cash cow can cool down, go to the fire, and make the starting point and expectation more correct, which will be beneficial to the sustainable and healthy development of the whole industry.
(Source: China.com Author: Gao Shunli)