Coupons worth almost 10 million yuan (US$1.5 million) in discounts are to be handed out to tourists in the scenic city of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, to boost visitor numbers during the financial crisis.

The vouchers will be targeted at people living in the Yangtze Delta region and Shanghai, China Daily cited Hangzhou tourism committee as reporting on Wednesday.

Visitors will be able to use the coupons to pay entrance fees to the city's most popular scenic sights, as well as buy tickets for entertainment events or food, according to the tourism committee.

"Boosting tourist spending is an immediate necessity for Hangzhou. Not everyone who gets the coupons will actually come, but the odds increase a lot," said Li Hong, an official for the city's tourism committee.

Apart from the 10 million yuan from the city's tourism committee, the government will also help fund the Hangzhou tourism stimulus package, an official from the tourism committee said without revealing the specific amount.

Details of how the coupons will be distributed have not been finalized yet but the stimulus plan will be implemented soon if everything goes well.

Hangzhou tourism committee will subsidize the businesses that participate in the stimulus project, local media reported.

The World Tourism Organization predicts only a 0-2 global growth this year for the number of tourists who holiday in a destination for at least one night, compared to last year.

Even the Asia Pacific region, regarded as one of the fastest growing tourism markets, will not see an increase of more than 2 percent, it said.

And it is also feared the continued appreciation of the renminbi will undermine the competitive cost advantages of visiting China.

(Xinhua News Agency January 21, 2009)