MORE than 1 million tourists swarmed to South China’s Hainan Province for the Chinese New Year holiday, bringing millions of yuan into the tropical resort island.

    However, tens of thousands of tourists have gone online to vent their frustration regarding overcharging and scammers who have supposedly fleeced the island’s visitors.

    Luo Di, president of a Beijing-based real estate agency, said a simple three-course meal cost his friend 4,000 yuan (US$625) at a restaurant in Sanya at the southern tip of Hainan.

    “My friend told me he only asked the price of the fish without ordering it. But the restaurant’s owner immediately cooked the fish and charged him 1,160 yuan per kilogram,” Luo said on Sina Weibo. Luo’s post was forwarded over 40,000 times before he deleted it Sunday.

    Mounting pressure from netizens resulted in a response from the government of Sanya on Sunday. The city’s information office said on its Sina Weibo that the seafood restaurant where Luo’s friend dined has been closed until an investigation into its pricing practices was completed.

    Hainan has also been slammed for soaring accommodation prices during the Spring Festival, even after the provincial government ordered a cap on hotel room prices.

    Zhang Ziran, a tourist from Wuhan, said the hotel he stayed cost six times the amount charged during the normal season.

    “Although Hainan can rake in enormous profits from the Spring Festival holiday, this method of running businesses is not sustainable,” Zhang said.

    Wang Jiansheng, chairman of the Hainan tourism research board, said local authorities should toughen regulations and mete out more severe penalties to those who fleece tourists. (Xinhua)