The government is scheduled to reopen parts of Taroko National Park to tourists by end of the year, after an earthquake that measured 7.2 on the Richter scale struck Hualien on April 3 and severely damaged some parts of the park, Minister of Transportation and Communications Li Meng-yen (李孟諺) said yesterday.
“Closing Taroko National Park to tourists affects not only Hualien County, but also the motivation of international tourists to come to Taiwan, as it is considered the Grand Canyon of Asia and many foreigners visit Taiwan just to see it,” Li said.
“We have set a goal of repairing the section from east of Changchun Shrine (長春祠) to Taroko Arch Gate before the end of this year. It is a less risky and safer section, and the road access can be repaired and reopened. Hualien simply cannot survive without Taroko National Park,” he added.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE
Aside from Taroko Gorge, the ministry might also promote other tourist attractions in Hualien that might appeal to domestic tourists, such as Chisingtan (七星潭), Liyu Lake (鯉魚潭) as well as Fuli (富里), Yuli (玉里) and Dongli (東里) townships, Li said.
“The three townships are known as the home of artists and creative industry workers, and railway tourism. They have yet to become famous among international tourists, but they could be tourist attractions for domestic travelers,” Li said.
On whether the ministry should stop working on fragile highways in mountainous areas, Li said that some of them need to be fixed in a short period, as they are access roads for residents of villages nearby.
Farmers need to access these roads to deliver their agricultural products, he said.
“However, many of these roads were constructed by cutting through slopes and river valleys, and could collapse through years for various reasons,” Li said. “In the long run, we need to find safer routes, but for now we need to bolster the safety of existing routes and reduce casualties, either by building tunnels or reinforcing slopes.”
Meanwhile, Li said the ministry would step up efforts to attract international tourists in the second half of this year.
A total of 4.1 million international tourists have visited the nation so far this year, he said.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the nation attracted approximately 11 million international visitors per year, including those from China.
“We hope that China could soon lift the ban on group tours to Taiwan, and they could begin by allowing group travelers to visit Kinmen and Lienchiang counties,” Li said.
Due to a nationwide economic downturn, China asked its people to travel within the country and hoped that Taiwanese tourists would go there to boost its economy, Li said.
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