Taiwan is unlikely to achieve its tourism target of attracting 10 million inbound international visitors this year, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) told lawmakers at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday.
The most recent data showed that the nation had logged 5.8 million international travelers, putting the goal out of reach, Chen said, without specifying what period the number covered.
The government would continue to strive to reach the original target, but this year’s target would be lowered, he said, adding that officials routinely set the bar well above what might be considered easy.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
With the target out of reach, it would be lowered to the previous year’s level, he said, adding that the revised target of 7.5 million inbound international travelers would not be lowered further.
Earthquakes in April, Chinese military drills in May and Typhoon Gaemi in July put off would-be visitors, Tourism Administration Director-General Chou Yung-hui (周永暉) said on the sidelines of the meeting.
Sixteen representative offices are to host events promoting tourism in Taiwan, Chou said, adding that his agency is concentrating attention on drawing first-time travelers to the central and southern regions.
Local governments should improve the tourism experience for domestic travelers, including by offering package school trips and parent-child excursions, he added.
Turning to infrastructure, Chen said that the Central Weather Administration (CWA) is building earthquake monitoring devices and laying cables to enhance public safety against tremors and tsunami.
The CWA is pursuing the project in phases to stay within funding limits, he said.
So far this year, the project has added 38 earthquake monitoring stations, bringing the total to 632 nationally, and created an earthquake warning system tailored for metropolitan Kaohsiung, he said.
The CWA expects to roll out another customized system in Taichung before the end of next year, Chen said.
The additions would allow local authorities to deliver warning messages in seven seconds, down from 10 seconds, which would reduce the detection dead zone — the area too close to an epicenter to have a warning delivered before shaking starts — to 25km, down from 35km, he said.
The agency plans to lay 200km of undersea cables to serve three devices to detect tremors and tsunami originating in the Manila Trench, Chen said.
This system would enable local governments in Taiwan proper’s southwest to issue earthquake warnings 14 seconds in advance and tsunami alerts 30 minutes ahead of the arrival of the waves, he said.
The agency is investing heavily in applied artificial intelligence to speed up the delivery of warnings, and make predictions faster and more accurate, Chen said.
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