The Executive Yuan is pumping NT$1 billion (US$31.5 million) into a two-year national tourism campaign that aims to increase the number of overseas tourists to 4.25 million by the end of this year.
The campaign, titled Tour Taiwan 2008-2009, debuted in a ceremony yesterday. Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (
Minister of Transportation and Communications Tsai Duei (
Tsai specifically noted the increase of Japanese tourists. While rising oil prices have prevented many Japanese from traveling overseas, Tsai said Taiwan is the only country in the world with a positive growth in Japanese tourists last year.
Tsai said the nation has also seen growth in domestic travel. Despite the cold weather, the number of domestic travelers increased 4 percent over this year's Lunar New Year holiday compared to last year.
Tourism Bureau's director general Janice Lai (
Lai said the bureau would also identify some of the most interesting events around the nation and use them to promote Taiwan. The annual Taiwan Lantern Festival, for example, has been held for 19 years and has a worldwide reputation. She confirmed yesterday that staff from the Discovery Channel had arrived to film the festival as well as other local events.
Lai also mentioned the World Games and Deaflympics, scheduled to be held next year in Kaohsiung and Taipei respectively, as another great opportunity to let the world see Taiwan.
"We want to show our friends from overseas that Taiwan has activities going on every month and each county offers different activities," she said.
For backpackers, Lai said that the bureau would offer tour packages that contain free tickets for the MRT, a theme park and hotsprings during Tour Taiwan.
The bureau would also reward organizations arranging group tours to Taiwan, such as cruise line operators.
The bureau it would also reward the one-millionth, two-millionth, three-millionth and four-millionth travelers of the year. They will be rewarded with credit of NT$100,000, NT$200,000, NT$300,000 and NT$400,000 respectively on their credit cards.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the
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