Sun, Jan 25, 2009 page3

• FEATURE :Taiwanese tourism industry trails behind Southeast Asia

  OVER-DEVELOPMENT A number of tourists and travel agents say some of Taiwan旧 most scenic areas are marred by large concrete hotels that don急 blend into scenery

  • By Emmanuelle Tzeng / CNA, WITH STAFF WRITER
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  Just two months after massive protests shut down Thailand’s international airport in Bangkok and stranded thousands of tourists, long lines of international visitors, with many arriving from faraway places such as Europe, the US and the Middle East, crowd the Suvarnabhumi Airport.

  They come for Thailand’s sun, beaches, culture and perhaps most importantly the warmth of its people and its tourist-friendly environment.

  Despite the economic downturn and political turmoil, “what is strong in Thailand remains strong and even stronger ... The strongest [point] are Thai people themselves,” said Tharit Charungvat, director-general of the Department of Information.

  As Taiwan tries to boost the number of tourists who visit, nearby Thailand can serve as a role model that has succeeded in building a strong tourism industry, and one that is able to attract tourists for repeat visits, Taiwan’s representative to the Southeast Asian country said.

  In an interview, Roy Wu (烏元彥) praised the friendly service in Thailand, from which he said Taiwan’s service industry could learn a lot.

  He said that during the closure of Suvarnabhumi Airport amid protests against the government in late November, the Thai authority sent artists to the airport to perform for foreign tourists trapped there.

  Moreover, vendors near the airport offered them free beverages and food.

  “The Thai government and its people are very attentive [to foreign visitors],” Wu said.

  ‘TOUR TAIWAN YEAR’

  In contrast, few Western tourists are normally seen at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in Taipei.

  In the hope of boosting tourism as a key industry, especially as manufacturing companies have moved to developing countries such as China and Vietnam in recent years, Taiwan’s government has designated last year and this year as “Tour Taiwan Years.”

  It is offering a series of incentives, including free subway passes, tickets to hot spring resorts and chances to win large amounts of money to lure visitors to Taiwan.

  Last year, Taiwan received 3.85 million visitors, an increase of 3 percent compared to 2007, among whom 46.2 percent were tourists and 22.9 percent were business travelers, the Tourism Bureau said.

  The bureau hopes the number of tourists will reach at least 4 million this year.

  At the same time, one of Asia’s top tourist destinations — Thailand — estimated optimistically that their country received approximately the same number of tourists last year as in 2007, around 14.5 million, despite the economic downturn.

  Taiwan and Thailand’s tourism resources and strategies, however, are different.

  While Thailand is blessed with many white sand beaches and a tropical climate, Taiwan’s coasts are mostly rocky and the weather is not as warm.

  Taiwan, however, has rich natural beauty — including one of the tallest mountain in northeast Asia — Yushan — scenic coastal areas and rich local culture.

  The challenges Taiwan faces, however, are in providing easy access to its tourism resources. Many of the mountains, for instance, are not easily accessible for individual climbers. Climbers are therefore advised to join mountain climbing tours.

  PACKAGE TOURS

  Many of the tourists coming to Taiwan are on package tours; but the Tourism Bureau hopes to attract more individual travelers.

  To do so, signs must be clearly marked in English, routes and directions must be clear and the English-speaking ability of residents must improve.

  The cost of hotels, food and travel in Taiwan also tends to be higher than that of Thailand, while the quality is not necessarily better.

  In the hope of boosting tourism and helping the flagging economy, the Legislative Yuan this month passed a bill to allow casinos to be developed as part of resorts on outlying islands.

  Thailand, a heavily Buddhist country, meanwhile, frowns on going down that route.

  The law has sparked controversy, with opposition from religious groups and doubt as to whether the casinos would really boost economic development and tourism.

  Santichai Euachongprasit, deputy governor for international marketing of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said that while Thai people at one point debated whether to allow casinos in their country, in the end they strongly opposed it. The country will not consider casinos as a way to promote tourism, he said.

  “We offer other tourist attractions such as beaches and cultural attractions, which are more than enough,” he said. “Casinos often open in a country or a destination where they do not have many natural or cultural attractions, like [in a] desert or [small] cities,” the tourism official said.

  And the country’s tourism statistics have proven that focusing on preserving and protecting one’s natural resources works.

  “We have 61 percent repeat visitors,” Santichai said. “Thailand can offer a wide range of things to do; one visit is not enough ... and our price is very affordable.”

  While Thailand leaves its nature and tourism spots largely untouched by development and hotels and resorts are built in a tasteful fashion that largely blends in with nature, Taiwan has made the mistake of allowing many non-descript, unattractive buildings mar its natural scenery.

  A huge hotel, for example, has been approved for the banks of one of its most picturesque attractions — Sun Moon Lake — which local residents and tourists already say has too many smaller hotels obstructing views.

  UNIQUE

  However, Liu Hsi-lin (劉喜臨), director of the Tourism Bureau’s International Affairs Division, said in a recent interview that Taiwan has its own strategy.

  Future casinos located on outlying islands will be only one of the attractions in the whole tourism business.

  Taiwan is also trying to present its unique characteristics to compete with other countries in Asia, he said.

  To attract European and US tourists, Liu said his agency aimed to promote tours with specific teams that feature Taiwan’s rich natural and cultural resources, such as bird-watching tours, mountain-climbing tours and a tours focusing on the National Palace Museum’s collection of the best treasures of Chinese civilization.
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