Hangzhou is to issue tour coupons at Shanghai Expo

Hangzhou, a well-known tourist destination in east China's Zhejiang Province, will issue 40 million yuan (5.86 million U.S. dollars) of tour coupons at Shanghai World Expo.

The move is taken to encourage the expo visitors to travel further to Hangzhou and boost tourism in the scenic city, said Wang Xinzhang, deputy chief of Hangzhou City Travel Commission, Saturday.

According to Wang, Hangzhou will hand out the 400-yuan coupons to 100,000 visitors touring the Hangzhou pavilion at the Shanghai Expo.

Tourists with the coupons will receive a 50-percent discount when visiting fee-charging scenic spots, Wang said.

Shanghai World Expo will be on from May 1 through to Oct.31, and is expected to attract 70 million visitors.

Some 7 million out of the 70 million Shanghai Expo visitors will visit Hangzhou, as it only takes around one-and-half hours to travel to the city from Shanghai by train, said Wang.

If the expectation is realized, it would mean 10 percent more tourists for Hangzhou in 2010 compared with last year, Wang said.

Hangzhou has issued such tour coupons several times before.

Last year, the city handed out 50,000 travel coupons to tourists and local residents to boost tourism during the National Day holiday in October.