Wutai Mountain, one of China's most important Buddhist tourist sites, has raised its ticket price by 87 percent to 168 yuan (about US$22) as of Monday, China Business News reports.

The big margin price rise made at Wutai Mountain, in north China's Shanxi Province, followed similar ticket price increases in other renowned tourist resorts, including Emei Mountain in Sichuan Province and Wuyi Mountain in Fujian Province.

Sources from Wutai Mountain say that this is the first time in three years the tourist spot raises its main entrance price from the original 90 yuan. However, ticket prices for specific scenic spots inside remain the same.

As for reasons behind the recent price hikes, experts analyze that it is mainly attributable to spiralling costs of maintenance and the need for tourism facilities development.

But, the ticket price hikes have trapped travel agencies in a dilemma. Some travel agency operators told reporters that scenic sites often reported different prices to different agencies. If they cannot receive preferential prices, they will have to either impose the pressure on customers or surrender part of their profits.

One operator from a Shanghai travel agency, surnamed Qu, complained that many individuals and groups are now reluctant to register for group traveling because of the higher travel costs. The number of customers has shrunk, and thus the agency will suffer foreseeable losses.

To deal with the problem, some agencies have decided to exclude some tourist attractions with price hikes from their tour packages, leaving them for customers to choose voluntarily.

Some experts say that, currently, the operative rights of many tourist spots have been bought by private enterprises, resulting in the tourist market's remaining unregulated. Thus, they call for the setting up of an organ to unify the prices of tourist attractions.

(CRIENGLISH.com August 21, 2007)