Hou Zhengang, an inspector with the general affairs department of the China National Tourism Administration, praised the role played by the tourism police during the three-day national holiday.

As of now, 13 provinces have tourism police. In some popular scenic spots, tourism police are on duty 24 hours a day, and some places have established a tourism circuit court.

The 5A level scenic spot Shapotou in Zhongwei in Northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region has 35 tourism police that patrol the scenic spot to ensure public security and provide assistance to visitors. Guilin in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region has also established a tourist circuit court to quickly deal with tourism disputes and safeguard tourists' legitimate rights and interests. In Fanchuan in Central China's Henan province, traffic police and tourism police were on duty around the clock during the May Day Holiday.

To cope with the security risks posed by the large number of tourists flocking to scenic sites during the three-day holiday, the China National Tourism Administration required local authorities to monitor the number of tourists and to issue security warnings when necessary.

The administration said that scenic spots nationwide received 134 million tourists during the Labor Day Holiday, up 14.4 percent on the number last year. The overall income from tourism over the three days was 79.1 billion yuan ($11.5 billion), an increase of 16.2 percent on last year's income. The tourism administration described the domestic tourism market as prosperous and orderly during the holiday.