A resolute crackdown will be carried out on “illegal vehicles” and “unlicensed guides.” Travelers are especially reminded not to venture into unauthorized areas such as the undeveloped regions of the Xisha Islands and Tongguling... As the Spring Festival approaches, Wenchang has introduced a work plan from five aspects including tourism safety supervision, market inspection, and enrichment of holiday tourism products to welcome the upcoming peak in holiday tourism.
According to officials from the Wenchang Tourism Commission, the city welcomed nearly 80,000 visitors during the New Year’s holiday in 2013, and it is estimated that the number of tourists during the 2013 Spring Festival holiday will reach 100,000.
In terms of tourism safety supervision, for festive events and other public gatherings, Wenchang will strengthen all security measures under the principle of “the organizer is responsible for safety.” At the same time, it will urge tourism enterprises to reinforce safety management, improve monitoring systems, and develop emergency and rescue plans, ensuring preparedness for rescue operations. Furthermore, the Wenchang Tourism Commission specifically emphasizes that, given the recent incidents of travelers being stranded in the undeveloped areas of Xisha and Tongguling, travelers are advised not to enter unauthorized areas to avoid personal safety accidents. There will be “zero tolerance” for violations in the tourism market, and a resolute crackdown will be carried out on “illegal vehicles” and “unlicensed guides.”
Regarding special inspections of the tourism market, during the Spring Festival holiday, relevant Wenchang authorities will organize inspections of key aspects within their jurisdictions and systems, including tourism transportation, dining, accommodation, environmental hygiene, and safety production. Special attention will be given to preventing price gouging, zero or negative tour fees, passing off inferior products as good ones, and forced consumption—all of which disrupt market order. Complaints will be handled diligently to effectively protect the rights and interests of tourists.
During the Spring Festival, Wenchang’s publicity and cultural departments will launch 21 diverse cultural and sports activities rich in local characteristics and high in public participation, including New Year calligraphy and painting exhibitions, Spring Festival cultural arts festivals, Qiong opera tours, puppet show performances, and volleyball invitationals. Wenchang has also specially planned and promoted characteristic holiday tourism routes such as folk culture tourism, rural tourism, cultural tourism, and health and fitness tourism. In collaboration with eight cities and counties in northern Hainan, it will launch the “Celebrate the New Year in Northern Hainan” campaign to meet the multi-level needs of mass tourism consumption.
During the holiday period, a strict 24-hour duty and leadership shift system will be enforced. Continuous efforts will be made to patrol and rectify the tourism market, and real-time updates on tourism developments will be released to ensure timely and effective handling of tourism complaints and emergencies.
With the strong advancement of Hainan’s international tourism island construction and the approaching first rocket launch in 2014, it is estimated that Wenchang will receive 1.5062 million visitor-days of domestic and international tourists in 2013, a year-on-year increase of 20%, with total tourism revenue reaching 995 million yuan, up 22.7% year-on-year. Tourist sources are expected to come from four main areas: first, high-end tourists from both China and abroad interested in aerospace technology; second, short-haul travelers from within the province coming to the future space city for leisure; third, overseas and domestic Wenchang natives returning home for family reunions; and fourth, migratory tourists from inland areas coming to Wenchang for the winter.