Is the shuttle bus in the scenic area convenient or profit-driven?

"Is the shuttle bus in scenic areas convenient or profitable?" is a common topic. Every holiday, tourists complain about issues such as high shuttle bus fees, long waiting times, poor experience, and unreasonable route design in some scenic areas. The original intention of setting up shuttle buses in scenic areas is to protect the ecological environment and enhance the tourist experience. This requires scenic areas to ensure that shuttle buses truly benefit tourists through measures such as optimizing scheduling, improving services, and charging reasonable fees.

Is the entrance getting farther away?

Scenic areas are now getting larger, and the entrance to the scenic area is far from the core attractions, which is a direct feeling for many tourists. Some scenic areas have moved the visitor reception center outside, resulting in the parking lot being quite far from the ticket entrance, making shuttle buses a standard secondary consumption project in many scenic areas.

During the interview, several tourism industry professionals told China Tourism News reporters that the relocation of visitor reception centers should be analyzed based on the specific situation of the scenic area and should not be viewed as a one-size-fits-all approach, assuming that scenic areas deliberately relocate to increase transportation revenue.

Zhang Xiaofeng, director of the Zhejiang Tourism Science Institute, explained: "The relocation of visitor reception centers usually falls into three categories." For example, scenic areas like Kanas in Xinjiang and Jiuzhaigou in Sichuan have vast areas, scattered attractions, and long travel routes. From the perspective of ecological protection and tourist experience, setting up shuttle buses with different stops facilitates tourists; in Gansu's Dunhuang Mogao Caves and Xi'an's Terracotta Army, the areas are large, and more importantly, there are requirements for cultural relic protection, so the visitor reception center is a certain distance from the scenic entrance, requiring the use of the scenic shuttle bus; another situation is that some scenic areas have no available construction land nearby and can only find a place far away to build a parking lot, leading to the relocation of the visitor reception center.

Each scenic area has its own unique situation, requiring specific issues to be analyzed specifically. During the interview, many scenic area operators mentioned that the issues with shuttle buses are closely related to parking difficulties. In the past, there were not so many tourists, and self-driving tourists were even fewer. With the development of the self-driving tourism market, the demand for parking has exploded, making parking difficulties a prominent issue.

Bi Donglin, general manager of the Zhangshiyan Scenic Area in Hebei, told reporters: "Our scenic area has continuous cliffs and steep cliffs, with high mountains and deep valleys, making it impossible to build large parking lots within the scenic area. To alleviate the current pressure, in 2023, the Zhangshiyan Scenic Area coordinated with nearby villages for a piece of land for building a parking lot, so shuttle buses need to be provided, operated by the scenic area itself."

Many operators mentioned that there are also some scenic areas that do not have an actual need but deliberately relocate the visitor reception center outside, resulting in a situation where it is far from the core attractions, increasing the transportation costs for tourists.

Is the price getting more expensive?

Previously, some netizens exposed that visiting the Niubeishan Scenic Area in Sichuan not only requires purchasing a 160 yuan ticket but also must bundle purchase an expensive shuttle bus ticket, which was mockingly referred to as "Niugui Mountain" by netizens. Staff at the Niubeishan Scenic Area told reporters: "Currently, the scenic area ticket is 120 yuan, and the shuttle bus was originally 80 yuan, but it is temporarily free."

Previously, a travel blogger complained that entering the Chaka Salt Lake Scenic Area in Qinghai required paying 30 yuan to take the shuttle bus. The Ulan Chaka Salt Lake Scenic Area Protection and Utilization Management Committee subsequently issued a notice, canceling the 30 yuan fee for the tourist environmental sightseeing bus based on the demands of many tourists and the existing bottleneck issues in the scenic area. At the same time, tourist buses with more than 17 seats can directly enter the scenic area parking lot, and all scenic areas and service units are urged to improve service quality.

The Hukou Waterfall in the Yellow River in Shanxi was previously criticized by tourists for "bundled sales of shuttle buses." In response, the relevant person in charge of the scenic area explained that the scenic area offers "ticket + scenic transportation" combined tickets online, intending to provide tourists with one-stop service and simplify the ticket verification process. The scenic area has now set up a public notice board in a prominent position at the visitor center, announcing ticket prices and discount policies for tourists to understand and supervise. The reporter noted that the scenic area has now established separate ticket purchase options, including ticket + small transportation. The scenic area has also set up rest facilities and Yellow River viewing points along the walking path, allowing tourists to walk and play along the way.

Zhan Dongmei, director of the Research Management Department of the China Tourism Research Institute, said: "Overall, the current prices of shuttle buses in scenic areas in China are within a reasonable range, but some scenic areas have issues such as forced purchases due to improper planning or poor management."

"Currently, many sightseeing scenic areas have limited revenue channels besides ticket income, making it difficult for scenic area investments to recoup costs," Bi Donglin explained. "Current policies stipulate that ticket income cannot be counted as revenue for listed entities, and some scenic areas have limited revenue means. To increase revenue channels, transportation in scenic areas, including shuttle buses and cable cars, is an important revenue project."

"It cannot be said that if tourists expose issues with shuttle buses online, the scenic area should immediately rectify them. It should be judged comprehensively based on necessity and rationality. Tourism is an experiential economy; if tourists come with excitement and leave disappointed, it is not conducive to the scenic area's brand and long-term development," said a well-known scenic area manager.

Is the experience getting worse?

"If you are bringing elderly people or children, or if you really don't want to walk too much, the shuttle bus is a good choice. If you are a young person with plenty of energy, I suggest not to buy the shuttle bus ticket. Because after I bought the ticket, I regretted it very much." "Post-00" tourist Wei Xiaono said, "My friends and I traveled to a certain place in Shanxi, and there was a must-visit attraction. At that time, I bought a 15 yuan shuttle bus ticket. But later I noticed that the shuttle bus only went from the boarding point to the first attraction, which took less than 5 minutes. Moreover, upon entering the scenic area, there are two rows of columns leading to a temple worth visiting. In the end, on the way back, I would pass by a cultural and creative store, but taking the shuttle bus might make me miss this interesting spot."

"From the parking lot of a certain scenic area in Beijing to the entrance of the scenic area, there are two options: either walk up the mountain on the path or walk to the shuttle bus stop, paying 10 yuan to take the shuttle bus up the mountain. The shuttle bus route only covers a distance of 300 meters," said Ms. Wang, a tourist from Beijing, complaining that the scenic area built along the mountain does not have convenient ramps for the elderly and disabled, making it impossible to use wheelchairs.

In Zhan Dongmei's view, "The design of shuttle bus routes in scenic areas needs to comprehensively consider tourist experience, scenic area protection, and operational efficiency. Scenic areas should determine the demand and frequency of shuttle buses based on the number and distribution of tourists. Analyze the locations of major attractions to ensure that shuttle buses can effectively connect them. At the same time, consider the needs of different tourists, such as the elderly and disabled."

In addition, the differences between peak and off-peak seasons lead to significant fluctuations in tourist flow at different times. During peak seasons, scenic areas face issues such as excessive reception pressure and declining service quality. "Tourists prefer 'fast travel and slow play.' Scenic areas with conditions should adopt circular routes to reduce repeated travel and improve efficiency. Increase vehicles and trips during peak hours, and use technologies like GPS to monitor vehicle locations in real-time for flexible scheduling. Shuttle bus routes should cover secondary attractions to provide tourists with more sightseeing options." In Bi Donglin's view, this is an issue of adjusting management thinking in scenic areas.

"The reason why tourists complain so much about the shuttle buses in scenic areas is fundamentally due to a poor experience." According to Zhan Dongmei, tourists are willing to pay for products that are valuable and provide a good experience. The points of complaint from tourists can be transformed into anchor points for the improvement of scenic areas. It is important for scenic areas to start from the perspective of tourists and to sincerely provide good service and management. At the same time, scenic areas should continuously innovate to bring tourists tangible, perceptible, and participatory experience projects and cultural creative products.