Tourist sites should tap local culture

For mature tourist sites, the revenue from ticket sales represents only a small portion of the profits they can generate. The management companies and administrators of tourist attractions should pay more attention to developing the cultural value of their assets and providing a better experience for their visitors, says an article in Beijing News. Excerpts:

Many people have found that the souvenirs they bought during the National Day holiday were not locally produced.

The local specialties market, if well developed, is potentially a big and lucrative consumer market. However, the management companies and administrations of many tourist attractions do not seem to care about the poor quality of the experience they provide and this is reflected in the souvenirs available for visitors to buy.

On one hand, many local specialties, or the skills of making the specialties, are disappearing soon before the public realize it, because of the lack of protection. On the other hand, tourist sites do not have the ability to transform their unique culture and history into souvenirs.

The management companies and administrators should divert their attention from ticket sales, which account for more than half of the total revenue of top-level tourist spots in China today, to the broader cultural industry and consumer market.

Those who are brave and clever innovators in the tourism industry will reap the rewards in the fierce competition in the future. The true value of tourism is the cultural resources behind the beautiful scenery and historical buildings.