The number of people taking whale-watching trips from Hualien is rising after the region adopted measures to attract more visitors, the Hualien Fishermen’s Association said.
Interest in whale watching had declined in the previous two years, with only 30,000 whale watchers recorded during the entire summer season last year. This year, however, there were almost 30,000 visitors in the three-month period between May and last month, the association said.
Association secretary-general Wang Teng-yi (王鐙億) said on Tuesday that Hualien has been developing its whale-watching industry for more than 10 years.
At the peak, there were more than 100,000 visitors each year, she said, with the busiest season — summer — sometimes seeing 60,000 visitors in two months.
If Taiwan hadn’t been affected by two typhoons this year, which led to the cancelation of whale-watching trips for 10 days, there could have been around 40,000 whale watchers, she said.
While whale-watching operators were concerned that local economic problems, including rising oil prices, could cut into their margins, operators actually posted higher profits given the increase in the number of whale watchers this year, she said.
Wang said there are only two locations for whale watching near Hualien, and many whale watchers have expressed concern about the convenience of transportation.
Despite these limitations, the association said the number of whale watchers still rose, attracted by several companies’ advertisements of trips promising a 93 percent chance of actually seeing a whale.
Many operators also promise a free second trip if watchers do not manage to spot a whale.
The popularity of Hualien as a summer vacation destination also might have been a factor, it said.
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
RSS