Out-of-town visitors traveling to Xi'an by self-driving will receive fuel subsidies and half-price ticket discounts. Residents of Xi'an will also be given tourism gift packages worth a total of over 50 million yuan.
On March 4, the Xi'an Municipal Government's executive meeting preliminarily passed the "Xi'an 2013 Target Responsibility Assessment Tasks," which require the city to host over 100 million domestic tourists and 1.3 million international tourists this year. To achieve this, Xi'an plans to roll out a package of measures and initiatives to boost tourism development. To expand the self-driving tour market, Xi'an will collaborate with cities within a 500-kilometer radius—both within and outside the province, such as Taiyuan, Zhengzhou, Chengdu, Yinchuan, Wuhan, and Baoji—to establish a self-driving tourism alliance. This alliance will offer self-driving vehicles visiting Xi'an half-price admission to scenic spots and provide fuel subsidies. Relevant departments are currently studying the subsidy plan and detailed implementation rules. The general direction is that tourists can claim the benefits at various attractions by presenting bridge and highway toll receipts.
"Xi'an plans to distribute tourism gift packages worth over 50 million yuan to residents. These packages may include discount coupons for scenic spots, hotels, and tourism performances. Specific details are still under consideration," said a relevant official from the Xi'an Municipal Bureau of Tourism. For local residents, numerous free events will also be organized, such as spring flower viewing, various fruit-picking festivals in summer and autumn, winter skiing festivals, hot spring festivals, as well as temple fairs and expos. To support these, the city will further improve tourism bus routes around urban areas and increase bus frequency.
Currently, the Qujiang New District has launched a free tourist bus running from the west gate of the Tang Paradise to the Famen Temple scenic area. In addition, new free tourist buses will be introduced from the airport and train station to the Terracotta Army, Huaqing Pool, and Louguantai Taoist Cultural Scenic Area.