Taiwan has a tourism deficit. This year, 8 million Taiwanese will go abroad while only 3 million foreign nationals will visit Taiwan. So how can Taiwan compete for foreign travelers when so many local travelers clearly just want to get off the island?
"We don't have to be the number one, we just have to be the only one," Taiwan Tourism Bureau Director-General Hsu Wen-sheng (
Hsu, who took over from former Director-General Su Cherng-tyan (
"I used to go there with my classmates to do experiments for school. The forest there is so beautiful," Hsu said. He lamented the damage that was done by landslides in the 921 earthquake, but noted the forest is gradually recovering.
Hsu's first job after graduating from NTU with a master's degree in 1975 was in the technical services division at the Tourism Bureau, where he focused on the planning, development and management of the nation's tourist infrastructure. While working in this post he was sent to Seattle to study outdoor recreation management at the University of Washington for six months. Hsu said he studied harder in Seattle than he ever had before and learned everything he needed to know about large-scale planning.
After eight years in the technical services division (four as the section chief), the Tourism Bureau sent Hsu to the northeast coast as director of the scenic area office there.
"I was the founding director of Taiwan's first scenic area office. Before that there were no (designated) scenic areas," Hsu said.
Now there are 12 national scenic areas in Taiwan. But along with the honor of setting up the first came the burden of figuring out how to set a precedent.
"We had to start from scratch, but after six years of building and development we got to the point where other scenic areas could be created using the northeast coast as a model," Hsu said. "I felt quite a sense of achievement."
Hsu's achievements would soon be put to the test. A turning point for Taiwan's tourism
industry, and for Hsu's career, came in August, 1990, when a sightseeing boat capsized on Sun Moon Lake, killing 57 tourists from Taiwan and abroad.
The deaths of the passengers, Shell employees taking part in a company outing, confronted the tourist industry with questions as to how such a tragedy could occur and prompted the then-director of Taiwan Provincial Government Tourism Bureau to step down. Hsu, who was serving as a deputy director, got the nod from then-governor Lien Chan to take over.
Hsu felt the weight of responsibility as he took the helm of the provincial branch of the Tourism Bureau (a body that no longer exists today).
"I felt there was so much that had to be done to improve local tourism management," Hsu said. "Safety had to be the first priority."
After three decades with Hsu at the helm of the Tourism Bureau things have come a long way.
"In the past, we used to submit a lot of development plans and projects that had huge budgets and would cost the government a lot of money. But now, Taiwan has more or less enough infrastructure in all of the scenic areas -- I don't think we need more development. We have to start emphasizing promotion and marketing," Hsu said.
That's where the Flagship Project comes in. The Flagship Project is the name of the Tourism Bureau's planned marketing campaign in which one, or sometimes two "flagship" tourist attractions are chosen from each of Taiwan's cities and counties for special promotion. In the capital city, it's Taipei 101 and the National Palace Museum; in Kaohsiung it's the Love River; in Hualien County it's Taroko Gorge and in Pingdong County it's Kenting.
"We use these flagship locations to attract tourists, but not only the flagships will benefit -- the surrounding areas will as well," Hsu said.
The plan was recently presented to Premier Frank Hsieh and met with his approval.
Hsu is optimistic for Taiwan's tourist industry, pointing to an expected 16 percent increase in the number of foreign visitors coming to Taiwan this year. That's a growth rate that even Taiwan's leading electronics industry could be envious of.
Tourism can also help forge ties with foreign countries as well as boost the economy, according to Hsu.
"There are many countries with which Taiwan has no formal ties, so we must put more emphasis on tourism to cultivate friendship with these countries," Hsu said. "When visitors come to Taiwan we hope we can give them the best service possible and leave an impression."
In descending order, Japan, Hong Kong/Macau and the US make up the top points of origin for foreign visitors to Taiwan.
And while Chinese tourists represent a huge untapped market the logistics of tapping that potential are politically sensitive.
Hsu said Taiwan divides Chinese citizens into three categories for the purpose of issuing tourist visas. The first category is the general public; the second is travelers who would come to Taiwan as one stop on a multi-country tour and the third is Chinese expatriates who have legal residence outside of China. The second and third categories have been approved for tourist visa eligibility so far, but the third will require much more negotiation.
"We have to talk with them (Chinese authorities) about the Chinese tourists who leave their groups and disappear," said Hsu, pointing to a fax that showed the names of three Chinese who had mysteriously disappeared from their tour groups that day. "This happens all the time," he said.
Even without many Chinese tourists, Hsu's predictions for the numbers of visitors to Taiwan will see in the future are rosy. The important thing to remember, he said, was to offer something unique to compete with larger countries.
"The US doesn't have to promote tourism because it's so huge and it has the best of many things," Hsu said. Taiwan can't compete with the world's most popular tourist destination by having the best or the most of much (with the exception of the world's tallest office building), but it doesn't have to, he said -- it just has to be unique. People will come to Taiwan because there's only one National Palace Museum, only one Sun Moon Lake, only one Taroko Gorge.
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