Local tourism gets a boost during the Lunar New Year with record number
By admin on 2014-12-29

Local tourism gets a boost during the Lunar New Year with record number of visitors from mainland China arrive for their holidays, Want Daily reported yesterday.

Travel related industries scrambled to serve the unprecedented number of mainland guests touring Taiwan over the holiday as more than 10,000 visitors arrived on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

A total of about 40,000 Chinese tourists will spend time in Taiwan during the 9-day extended break, more than three times the number for the same season last year, estimated the tourism bureau.

Almost all bed-and-breakfasts in the country are at their full capacity, with virtually no vacancies in eastern Taiwan, said Travel Agents Association of R.O.C. Hotel occupancy rate has also reached about 80 percent, double of last year's figure.

The wave of holiday visitors have also refueling the travel industry in southern Taiwan for the first time since it was boycotted by many mainland tourists for political reasons. The boycott originated after mayors and magistrates from Democratic Progressive Party, in the south, invited the Dalai Lama to visit the southern city of Kaohsiung last year.

Kaohsiung International Airport welcomed the first Chinese tour groups to arrive in Taiwan on the first day of the lunar year at 6 a.m., with 10 separate groups aboard a single direct flight from Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, eastern China.

But the southern Chinese province of Fujian will see the largest number of Chinese tourists departing for Taiwan, according to the province's tourism bureau, with over 2,500 people in 100-plus groups.

Visits to Taipei's Dihua street market for New Year's treats, strolls through lantern fairs, the writing of calligraphy couplets, and hand puppetry shows are all locally flavored traditions that are popular with Chinese tourists, said Dong Shanjing, manager of a Fujian-based travel agency.

Taiwan's more romantic spots such as the Lover's Bridge in Danshui and Taipei 101 also drew a considerable crowd this year as the New Year coincided with Valentine's Day, added Dong.

The local travel industry seemed overwhelmed by the influx of incoming visitors, unable to digest the volume of demands, reported Wan Daily. China's state media, Xinhua News Agency recently ran a special on the frustrations of 3,000 Chinese tourists in Taiwan on Lunar New Year's Eve.

With city restaurants overflowing with guests, some tourists had to fight for seats by standing closely behind other guests eating their meals, while others found themselves grabbing plates of food straight from the “to-be-served” counter right outside the kitchen.

However, outside major cities, Chinese tourists have reported quite pleasurable stays, especially those who have been greeted by some form of Chinese New Year tradition from local authorities.

Customs officers in Keelung Port spread the joy of the season by handing red envelopes to all the incoming visitors who disembarked their cruises, yesterday.

Many mainland visitors yesterday asked to take photographs with Premier Wu Den-yih at a large temple in central Taiwan, after he distributed around 5,000 red envelopes for luck during the Year of the Tiger.

A couple form Guangzhou, surnamed Chang, said that they were especially happy having received a red envelope from “Taiwan's highest administrative leader;” adding that the special experience will help seal the beauty of Taiwan in their memories.