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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