HAIKOU, February 18. /TASS/. Authorities in China’s southern province of Hainan have strengthened oversight of the tourism industry during the Lunar New Year celebrations, placing emphasis on various supervisory mechanisms to ensure a comfortable and safe stay for visitors to the island, the Hainan Daily newspaper reported.

With the start of the holiday period (February 15-23), tourist traffic in the region increased significantly. Government bodies and industry associations carried out advance preparations and introduced measures aimed at preventing violations and protecting consumer rights. The primary objective is to provide tourists with comfortable conditions and to enhance standards of good-faith business practices.

The provincial Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television, and Sports published a list of hotels that received the highest number of complaints on February 1-13. According to the newspaper, the main grievances concerned poor service quality, misleading advertising, the absence of clearly displayed prices, the imposition of additional services, and breaches of contractual terms. Authorities stressed that the identified problems would serve as grounds for tighter industry supervision and prompt corrective measures. Businesses have been advised to raise service standards and adhere to principles of fair and honest commercial conduct.

In the city of Sanya, industry organizations responded swiftly to cases of unilateral booking cancellations by hotels. The listings of violators were removed from online booking platforms, and the enterprises involved were placed on an industry blacklist and subjected to enhanced monitoring. Affected tourists are receiving support, and a compensation mechanism has been launched on the Hainan Worry-Free Travel platform. In addition, in Lingshui County, local authorities issued a special notice to catering establishments and hotels. The document requires the accurate display of prices for fresh seafood and prohibits the use of wording that could mislead consumers.

According to provincial authorities, the early-warning system, strengthened supervision, and penalty measures against violators are intended to foster a market environment in which honest business practices become the prevailing standard.