Voice: Time for Yunnan to have a tourism revolution

After more than 40 years of hard work, Yunnan tourism has emerged as a provincial pillar industry from scratch. And tourism makes a beautiful signature of Yunnan.

In recent years, however, Yunnan tourism has been marred successive incidents, involving attacks on tourists, delayed medical aid, and forced shopping. Tourist complaints in Yunnan accounted for more than 60% of the country’s total, and the image of Yunnan has plummeted.

In the face of chaos, Yunnan introduced the 22 strictest possible measures last year to regulate the tourist market. As a result, market order improved, with complaints falling sharply. The unreasonable low-cost tours disappeared, and forced shopping has be basically eliminated. The “zero-yuan” tour packages still exists in some places, and the compulsory shopping still occurs from time to time.

At present, we need to be more determined than ever before to have a tourism revolution. Yunnan should develop international, high-end, specialized and smart tourism, while focusing on market order, service upgrade, products supply and tourist management.

Now is the time to have a revolution in tourist market order. Yunnan should regulate its tourist market in an unwavering way, adhere to the “zero tolerance” attitude to the illegal deeds, and carry out timely and severe crack-downs on the law-breakers.

Now is the time to have a revolution in its quality upgrade. It is necessary to establish the “Yunnan-standard” systems that cover all aspects of tourism development. To make honesty a defining feature of Yunnan tourism, the honesty-evaluating system should involve evaluations from governmental agencies, tourism professionals and tourist representatives.

Now is the time to have a revolution in its tourist products supply. Yunnan should be market-oriented and adopt a holistic view in developing tourism. The public-service facilities are to be improved, with smart tourism stepped up and the overall supply in tourist products enhanced.

Now is the time to have a revolution in tourism administration. Yunnan should balance and make good use of the visible hand of policy makers and the invisible hand of the market.

Amazing Yunnan shares its best with the world. Yunnan is endowed with beautiful landscape, superior ecology, mild climate, diverse ethnic cultures, and long history. By carrying out a sustained and across-the-board tourism revolution, the province will be turned into a world-class tourist destination.

(An abridged Yunnan Daily commentary; trans-editing by Wang Shixue)