Starting April 10, Fenghuang Ancient Town has "bundled" its previously free ancient town scenic area and Nanhuashan Shenfeng Cultural Scenic Area, charging a 148-yuan admission fee. The fee has led to a sharp drop in tourist numbers and sparked resistance from merchants, drawing widespread attention and controversy. Data from Taobao Travel shows that in the last seven days, search index for "Fenghuang Ancient Town" dropped 20.3% month-on-month and 34.8% year-on-year. Meanwhile, in the past week, inn popularity on Taobao Travel has been very low, with bookings down 50% compared to March.
Li Xin, head of Taobao Travel, told reporters that local inns in Fenghuang Ancient Town have been significantly impacted since the fee was introduced. There are about 1,000 inns of various sizes within the Fenghuang Ancient Town area, and according to recent transaction data, inn bookings have plunged 50% compared to the same period in March.
Dr. Yang Yanfeng, associate researcher at the China Tourism Academy, said: "After the fee was imposed, two types of independent travelers were particularly affected. One is price-sensitive students, and the other is repeat independent visitors from nearby areas."
While tourists are still enthusiastic, many scenic spots are busy raising prices. With Fenghuang Ancient Town implementing a 148-yuan package ticket system, many independent travelers are being deterred and changing their itineraries to visit other destinations. One university student traveler said: "Dali doesn’t charge anything, Lijiang Ancient Town charges an 80-yuan maintenance fee, Shangri-La Ancient Town also charges 80 yuan, Xitang Scenic Area has a 100-yuan combo ticket, Wuzhen charges 100 yuan—and compared to these places, Fenghuang is the most expensive ancient town. Why go there?"
Reporters found that Taobao Travel has also created a special feature titled "Fenghuang’s Charging Now? We’ve Got More Fun Places!" which compiles inn booking and ticket purchasing options for ancient towns in Lijiang, Dali, Wuzhen, Xitang, Wuyuan, and Shangri-La. The click rate for this feature has been astonishing.
The Wuzhen Tourism Co., Ltd., invested in by CYTS, is responsible for the tourism development and operations of Wuzhen. Although Wuzhen also charges admission, the proportion of ticket revenue has been declining year by year and is now less than 50%. Many industry insiders say that Wuzhen’s commercial development model is considered worth learning from by many scenic spots suffering from severe "ticket dependency."
Ge Lei, general manager of the Marketing Department at CYTS Holdings Co., Ltd., believes that tourism should consider whether it serves a public welfare or commercial purpose. For ancient towns that largely rely on cultural and historical heritage, setting ticket prices too high is indeed inappropriate.