Yangzhou acts to offer benefits to visitors

Yangzhou is a hotspot for tourists from home and abroad. [Photo/VCG]

Yangzhou, as a city with over 2,500 years of history, has been a hotspot for tourists from home and abroad for a long time.

To better service tourists in 2019, 10 suggestions were released by Yangzhou Municipal Committee and Yangzhou Municipal Government on Feb 3 to promote the construction of Yangzhou as a famous international cultural and tourism city.

The document will be put into operation on March 28, 2019.

Offering better tourism service during national holidays

During this year's national holidays, namely Tomb Sweeping Day, Labor Day and National Day, 11 staff parking lots including the east and west courts of Yangzhou Municipal People's Government offices and Yangzhou Zhuxi Middle School will open to public, along with three staff canteens.

Six temporary free parking lots will be set up in the city during holidays and people from other cities can take buses to the downtown area for free with valid identity cards.

Additional promotion activities for Yangzhou delicacies will be held.

Continuing implementation of discounted entrance fees to key scenic areas

The preferential policy released in 2018 will be implemented in 2019 to offer discounts on entrance fees to key scenic areas and ticket packages.

During summer and winter vacations, students from primary schools to universities and colleges with valid certificates can enjoy free visits to six main scenic areas: Slender West Lake, Daming Temple, Ge Garden, He Garden, Yangzhou Museum of Guangling King's Tomb from the Han Dynasty (206 BC–AD 24) and Eight Yangzhou Eccentrics Memorial.

Foreign attendees at international meetings and athletes at international competitions with valid certificates can visit the six scenic areas mentioned above for free during the events.

Attendees at major meetings held in Yangzhou attracting more than 500 people can enjoy a 50 percent discount on entrance fees to the six scenic areas when paying group visits.

Satisfying tourists' diversified needs in dining and accommodation

Two tasting centers for Huaiyang cuisine and five story-telling houses featuring Huaiyang delicacies will be launched. Catering service facilities will be established around all scenic areas above or at AAA-level in downtown Yangzhou. More than 50 catering service points are expected to be set up at the Slender West Lake scenic area.

Clusters of hotels will be constructed near Jinghang International Meeting Center, Sanwan Bay area, Mingyue Lake and Slender West Lake. Culture-themed hotels will be built around scenic areas, provincial-level resort areas and areas alongside the Grand Canal. The number of homestays in downtown and rural areas will rise in 2019.

Increasing tourism accessibility for visitors from other cities

A tourist distribution center will be built in the southern area of Yangzhou to provide distinctive tourism services such as route reservations and customized tourism products.

Free shuttle buses traveling among major scenic areas such as Slender West Lake, Daming Temple, Ge Garden, Dongguan Street and He Garden will be put into use in April, May, September and October.

The service functions of Yangzhou Port will be improved to offer better services to passengers on cruises that dock at Yangzhou Port.

Providing accurate intelligent tourism services

An application named "Wo De Yang Zhou" (My Yangzhou) will be put online and advertised on signs outside parking lots and at the main entrances to scenic areas, along with the promotion of government hotline 12345.

"Yi Ma You Yang Zhou" (All about travelling in Yangzhou), a mini-program on WeChat, covers travel information such as online reservations, travel plans, local delicacies, transport and online consulting. Visitors can get more information by scanning the quick response (QR) code at all online travel agency (OTA) platforms and offline destinations in Yangzhou such as transport hubs, scenic areas, starred hotels, homestays and comprehensive tourist service centers.