Crowded scenic sites unsafe and unattractive

A cluster of clouds lingers above the Huangshan mountain range after an early winter rainfall, Nov 14, 2015. The clouds form a spectacular view of the mountain range in Southern Anhui province, which is a renowned scenic spot nationwide. The area is famous for its pine trees, snowy winter scenery, seas of clouds and stunning views of sunsets. [Photo/Xinhua]

Tourists to Huangshan, a scenic range of mountains in Anhui province in Eastern China, complained about how crowded the tourist site was during the holidays. On Wednesday, the third day of the Spring Festival holiday, the resort was so congested that it took five times longer than normal to finish a sightseeing trip. Beijing Times comments:

Crowds have become the holiday disease at tourist attractions throughout the country during the public holidays. What should be an enjoyable experience becomes anything but, as the excessive numbers of tourists make people stressed and tired, and create risks.

To keep attracting tourists to scenic spots, the sites should improve the quality of their management, focus on visitors' experience and optimize the safety and emergency measures.

According to Guideline for Measurement of the Carry Capacity of Scenic Areas, issued by the National Tourism Administration, every scenic destination should calculate the estimated maximum tourist capacity and develop a plan to control numbers.

If all tourist attractions restrict the number of visitors to a safe limit, it will not only reduce the risk of accidents but also improve the experience for visitors, which will in turn improve their image.

However, the reality is that the red line for visitor numbers is rarely observed and the resulting congestion leaves visitors with a bad impression. And for most tourist attractions their ability to respond to an emergency is still inadequate.

A main cause of the congestion is the "centralized" vacations, which means most people are holidaying at the same time. In the long run, to eliminate the holiday congestion at popular attractions people need to be able to choose for themselves when they want to take paid leave.