December 3, 2004
As you might have seen in colorful commercials run on the CNN news channel around the world this year, 2004 is Visit Taiwan Year. So- Naruwan!, Welcome to Taiwan. Naruwan is a greeting of the Amis people, one of the island's aboriginal groups, and the Tourism Bureau has made it the official greeting for welcoming travelers to Taiwan.
Despite the country's unique cultural and natural tourism resources, from its numerous ethnic-Chinese and aboriginal cultures to the highest mountains in the region, Taiwan has never been as successful as such well-known Asian travel destinations as Hongkong and Thailand. In 2002, tourism generated under 4% of the nation's gross domestic product.
However, the government has set the target of doubling the number of people that visit Taiwan annually to 5 million by 2008, and has doubled the budget of the Tourism Bureau since 2002 in order to achieve this goal. The bureau expects to draw 3.2 million tourists to Taiwan this year.
For this tourism-building effort to succeed, the tourism industry must take advantage of the variety available in Taiwan's abundant tourism resources.
Take Japanese tourist for instance. Upwards of 80% of the Japanese tourists that visit Taiwan only see Taipei in the north and Hualien on the east coast, according to the Kaohsiung Tourism Association. Less than 20% make it to Kaohsiung, usually staying just one night, in which they will surely visit the famous Liou Ho Night Market.
However, Kaohsiung, with its international airport, world-class harbor and Southern style, is not just the home of this bustling night market, it is also an international gateway to all that Southern Taiwan has to offer.
Innertrip Travel Service Co. and Kenting's YoHo Landis Spa and Resorts know very well the potential of the Southern Taiwan tourism market. Together, with the help of the Executive Yuan Service Center, these two companies have succeeded in signing up 1,106 Japanese tourists for direct chartered flights to Kaohsiung for a four-day holiday in Southern Taiwan. Requiring seven flights with 158 passengers each, this is the largest Japanese tour group to hit the South in thirty years.
Upon arrival, the Japanese guests will be welcomed warmly with a simple performance at the airport. They will then board tour buses that will receive a Pingtung County police escort directly to YoHo Landis Spa and Resorts in Kenting, the tropical beach town at the southern tip of the Hungchun Peninsula. The tourist will enjoy two days on the peninsula and two days split between Kaohsiung and the historical Tainan.
Taiwan's tourism sector has been running promotions in coordination with the government's tourism development efforts. The Kaohsiung Tourism Association says that it has met with great success at promotional events it has held in Japan and South Korea.
(United Daily News, Taipei Times)
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