Since September 25 last year, the Three Gorges Dam scenic spot has started to give free passes to Chinese which initiated a No Ticket era of national 5A-level scenic spots.
　　Almost a year has passed, a survey in Yichang city which is the location of the Three Gorges Dam found that, stimulated by the free ticket of the Three Gorges Dam, Yichang’s tourist economy has developed rapidly this year, tourist reception has set a new high and social capital has been poured in competitively. Yichang government has been stepping up efforts to build a world-famous city of hydropower and tourism.
　　Self-driving travel and country tour continues its popularity and tourism revenue shoots up.
　　Original price for the ticket of the Three Gorges Dam was 105 yuan and it has lasted for 11 years. Each year 120 million yuan could be earned comprehensively.
　　On September 24 last year, China Three Gorges Corporation announced that since September 25 the Three Gorges Dam scenic spot would open for free to Chinese tourists (including compatriots in Hong Kong and Macau and overseas Chinese).
　　The popularity rises continuously as soon as the scheme conducts. By July 9 this year, tourist reception of the Three Gorges Dam in 2015 have broken through 1 million, which rises 33% compared to the same period last year, setting the highest record in historical period.
　　The Three Gorges Dam scenic spot is crowded with tourists which pulls Yichang tourism to develop synchronously. In first half year, Yichang has received 25.3742 million tourists from home and abroad and earned 22.985 billion yuan, rising 21.57% and 34.6% respectively compared to last year.
　　Self-driving travel and country tour are extremely popular. It is introduced that Yichang self-driving activity of national brand cars held in April has attracted over 500 self-driving fans with over 200 famous cars from Hubei, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanxi and other provinces. Festival activities like Rape Flower Festival and Luozu Temple Fair held in Yuan’an County inYichang have cumulatively attracted 150,000 people inside and outside Hubei province.  
　　Kong Lei, the director of Yichang Tourist Administration, analyzed that the Three Gorges Dam scenic spot was the core resource and the gold-lettered signboard of Yichang tourism and its free ticket had great effect on maintaining the prosperity of Yichang tourist industry.
　　Vitality of social capital releases and structure of tourist industry deepens adjustment.
　　Benefited from the positive energy of the free ticket of the Three Gorges Dam, despite the circumstance of weak investment growth, scarce new consumption hot spots and increased difficulty in steady growth, Yichang tourist industry shows a trend of win-win situation for consumption and investment.
　　Bai Song, the deputy director of Yichang Tourism Administration introduced that 131 tourist projects were actually under construction in the first half year, among which 101 were continued projects and 30 were newly-commenced projects, with 2.69 billion yuan having been invested, an increase of 11.1% compared to last year.
　　The reporter learned from that more and more Yichang enterprises seized the opportunity to dig gold out of tourism.
　　On July 6, Hubei Xingfa Chemicals Group Co., Ltd, Wufeng Tujia Nationality Autonomous Country People\'s Government in Yichang and Houhe National Nature Reserve Administration in Wufeng signed a cooperation agreement of the development of Wufeng tourism to “flex their muscles” on tourist industry.
　　Liu Zuhai, who is a local entrepreneur in construction industry and founded Yichang Lujingyuan Ecological Agriculture Development Co., Ltd, has planned to invest 150 million to start the project of Seasons Farm and Xigou Valley in Huanghua Town in Yiling District. “Since the free entrance to the Three Gorges Dam, more and more visitors come here. We’re confident that our investment to developing tourism here will make us great profit.” Chen Aihua, the president of Zhilan Valley scenic spot in Zigui county said that he would add an investment of over 10 million yuan to build 10-kilometer walking road in Zhilan Valley, just because he thought Yichang tourism was promising.
　　Now Yichang, seizing the chance of free ticket to the Three Gorges Dam, is further promoting the comprehensive upgrade of tourist industry from sightseeing type to casual and recreational type. Huang Chuping, the Party Secretary of Yichang City, said that Yichang would take the Three Gorges Dam region as the pivot to build the Yangtze River Three Gorges national tourist resort integrating the gorges, dam, scenery and the city.
　　Developing Grand Tourism Without Depending on Tickets
　　Tang Kai, a university teacher from Foshan City of Guangdong Province, visited the Three Gorges Dam with 9 colleagues recently. He said that he has been to many Chinese scenic spots and was very unsatisfied with the sky-high ticket price of some places. “Rather than charge by taking advantage of monopoly resources, it is better to perfect services to have the tourists pay willingly.”
　　Tickets economy turning to industrial economy is considered to be the trend of the development of tourist industry. “The smaller the income of scenic spot occupies, the longer the industrial chain.” Kong said. The development of Grand Tourism to let tourists consume in accodmation, food, shopping and entertainment, is better for the entire economy.
　　Since March 1 this year, special highway of the Three Gorges opens to the public. Self-driving fans from all over China can visit the Three Gorges Dam and Sandouping Town without passport. Nowadays, Zhilan Valley scenic spot which is suitable for escaping from the summer heat receives seventy to eighty self-driving cars every Saturday and Sunday. Chen Aihua said that earning money through consumption services was the only path to getting out of the dilemma of ticket economy, to pushing the tourist industry into a scientific and healthy state.
　　“Since the free ticket polic in the Three Gorges Dam, traffic volume of tourists in and out of the Dam area has doubled as compared with the volume before that, driving tourist transportation economy to grow relatively fast.” Li Zhonghua, the deputy director of Yichang Transportation Authority, said that on the journey of transformation and upgrading of tourist industry, the comprehensive benefits produced by free tickets of the Three Gorges Dam was gradually released.
　　(Reporters Liang Xiangbin and Tan Yuanbin, according to Yichang Xinhua News Agency, August 14th)