Tourists cancel their trips to Alishan

Several Alishan hotels have seen up to 30 percent of their room bookings cancelled since a train crash in the area on Saturday.

Liao Chi-tai (廖景泰), a manager at Wunsun Hotel (文山賓館) in Alishan, received over 20 calls regarding the accident and about 30 percent of the hotel's room reservations for the next 10 days were cancelled.

Alishan's Dengshan Hotel (登山別館) also reported bookings for this week underwent a significant drop compared to the previous week.

Last Saturday the Alishan mountain train, packed with 200 passengers derailed, killing 17 people and injuring 156. News reports have attributed the accident to human error.

Located in central Taiwan's Chiayi County, Alishan is one of the country's most popular tourism destinations. According to the Tourism Bureau, Alishan forest park attracted about 800,000 visitors last year and ranked as the nation's No.1 forest recreation area in terms of visitors last year.

The destination, with its scenic mountain views, draws visitors to travel the 91-year-old narrow-gauge train up the mountain to see the sunrise over a sea of clouds each morning.

Inbound group tour agencies also expressed concerns over potential cancellations from foreign travelers.

"I received several phone and e-mail inquires from Japanese clients regarding the Alishan situation," said Sung Tzu-ming (宋子明), a manager at Cherry Tourist Service Co (櫻花旅行社).

Although Japanese tourists haven't canceled visits, some are considering making adjustments, he said.

Alternative transport option

"Some said that they prefer to take a bus rather than the train up the mountain," he said.

A market pundit said the impact on tourism will be short-term.

"The accident was an isolated incident caused by human error not by a disaster such as an earthquake or typhoon," said Lin Shih-jung (林士榮), chairman of the Chiayi Tourism Industry Association.

He stressed that as soon as the annual Cherry Blossom Festival starts on March 15, tourists will come back to the mountain as predicted. Tourism in Alishan peaks during the event, attracting up to 30,000 visitors per day, Lin said.

The festival runs through April 15.

Hotel bookings for the month-long festival are near 100 percent, industry professionals say.

Businesses in the Alishan region depend on the forest park for their livelihood. More than 20 percent of Chiayi-County citizens make their living from tourism-related business such as hotels, restaurants, transportation and shopping. Regional tourism contributed about 30 percent of the county's annual income last year, the association's Lin said.

The government has designated Alishan as a key tourism destination in its plan to double the annual number of foreign arrivals to 5 million by 2008.

Vice Premier Lin Hsin-yi (林信義) said the government plans to spend NT$4.5 billion to improve the Alishan tourism environment, and improving the railway system will be the top priority.