In a bid to promote tourism in Taiwan's oldest city, the Tainan City Government launched the Tainan Tourism Passport at a press conference in Taipei yesterday.
The passport costs NT$999, which entitles tourists to visit the city's five most famous historic sites at no additional charge.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
With the passports, tourists can stay in designated hotels, eat at designated food stalls, visit sites with rich ecological features and take city shuttles -- all at no extra charge.
"The passports offer services worth more than NT$4,000. It even provides a NT$1,600 coupon for plane tickets so that people living Taipei can travel to the south," Tainan Mayor Hsu Tain-tsair (許添財) said.
This is the first time the Tainan City Government has issued tourism passports.
A two-day travel-insurance plan providing coverage up to NT$1 million will be given to each passport holder.
Moreover, buyers of the pass-ports will be given telephone cards, NT$400 coupons for Holiday KTVs, tickets to see a well-known Tainan fortune teller and tickets to light fortune lanterns in city temples.
The passports also provide tourists with a discount on taxis and passport holders are entitled to see movies at the reduced cost of NT$190.
With the passports, visitors can go to the Leopard King Safari Zoo, watch the "World Snake King" and take cruises at 50 percent off.
The passports are valid for a year after the date of purchase.
The passports are available at all United Highway Bus Company (統聯客運) stations across the island.
The Tainan City Government is also selling the passports, as is the Taipei International Travel Fair, being held at the Taipei World Trade Center from today through Sunday.
The first 200 passports sold at the fair will come with phone cards worth NT$100 and food tickets worth NT$100.
The food tickets are valid for a Tainan food fair being held at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall from today to Sunday.
"To serve foreign tourists, the TTA will issue English and Japanese versions of the passports shortly," TTA chairman Yo Yi-fong (尤鎰鋒) said.
Hsu said he hopes the passports put Tainan on the tourist map.
"We're launching the passports not only to promote Tainan's tourism. We hope Tainan can replace Taipei's status as a city to represent Taiwan's culture," Hsu said.
Hsu added that the city is rich in history.
"The Dutch established Tainan Harbor in 1624 while colonizing the island," Hsu said.
But the city boasts more than just history, the mayor said.
"With the establishment of the Tainan Science-based Industrial Park, Tainan is going to become a new technology city, too," Hsu said.
"Tainan's culture and food show the spirit of Taiwan. It would be a great loss to Taiwanese people if we did not preserve and make known the cultural heritage of Tainan," Hsu said, adding that Taipei alone cannot provide an understanding of Taiwan's culture.
Tourism passports can also be purchased at ez Travel's Web site, kimo.eztravel.com.tw/, and the Tainan Tourism Association's Web site, www.tnta.d2g.com.
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