[Video provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The fourth Shandong Culture and Tourism Consumption Season kicked off on April 25, with a series of measures and coupons launched to boost consumption in the culture and tourism sectors, in a bid to offset some of the negative impacts of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The Shandong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism has cooperated with 24 provincial departments and the province's 16 cities to roll out 2,137 activities.

Wang Lei, head of the Shandong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, provides details about the fourth Shandong Culture and Tourism Consumption Season. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Local authorities said that cultural and tourism departments at all levels in the province have started to work with online platforms to offer a total of 138 million yuan ($19.49 million) in coupons to stimulate the consumer market.

The coupons can be used to buy a wide range of products and services, including art and cultural performances, tickets to scenic spot, cultural and creative products and tourist routes.

Shandong officials announce the start of the fourth Shandong Culture and Tourism Consumption Season and the "Shandong people travel in Shandong" tourism promotion event on April 25. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

More than 700 scenic spots, 1,352 cultural and tourism enterprises and 14 e-commerce platforms have joined the event.

The annual event, which was originally scheduled to be held in July, will last until October this year.

Local authorities have high hopes for the upcoming May Day holiday. The "Shandong people travel in Shandong" tourism promotion was also launched, offering 418 tourist routes and over 500 activities, discounts, and itinerary upgrades.

Visitors rest at a park in Jinan, Shandong province. [Photo/Xinhua]

Officials said that the event will take full advantage of the role of cultural and tourism consumption in leading industrial transformation and upgrading.

Yu Xiaoguang, director of the Shandong provincial tourism promotion center, said that cultural venues and scenic spots will take strict epidemic prevention and control measures to ensure the safety of visitors.

Yu also reminded visitors to make travel plans and book tickets in advance, and pay attention to guidelines and announcements by scenic spots and culture and tourism departments.

The beautiful scenery of Taierzhuang ancient town in Shandong. Scenic spots have launched sizable discounts to attract visitors in the province. [Photo/WeChat account: tezgc2008]