Francesco Borrello has a passion for the hospitality industry. As a veteran hotel manager who has been part of the industry boom that has seen places like Dubai, Bahrain and Yemen develop from oil-dependant desert outposts into centers of luxurious living, he is no stranger to the challenges that face Taiwan in its ambition to become a hub for international tourism.
And Francesco Borrello is an optimist. He believes that Taiwan is the "world's best kept secret," replete with potential to become a major destination for international tourists.
The trouble is simply that it remains stubbornly a secret, with only 3.52 million foreign tourists visiting last year. Borrello compares this unfavorably with tiny Singapore, which received nearly 10 million for the same period, without any of the advantages in human resources, culture or natural beauty that Borrello lists for Taiwan.
Naturally, as a general manager of the Grand Formosa Regent, one of the capital's foremost five-star hotels, Borrello has an interest in encouraging tourism to Taiwan. In his own small way, he has already been successful here. Since taking up his post in November 2006, Formosa Regent has seen occupancy for the first half of 2007 increase by 10 percent, and food and beverage revenue increase by 15 percent, over the same period last year. Clearly he must be doing something right.
As gratifying as such figures must be to an hotelier, Borrello is also convinced of the necessity of Taiwan reinventing itself as a service-oriented country, something it has yet to achieve.
"I think Taiwan has shifted its economy since the beginning, from the IT (information technology). Today Taiwan is the most developed country in terms of IT. When they started the development of the country they prioritized it. It's correct, it is a business decision. … Taiwan is going through a different phase now. It is time to diversify the economic stream. The first question is, what brings more money today? It is the leisure and travel business."
Borrello compares Taiwan's current situation with the UAE, were he worked at the Abu Dhabi Grand, Dubai, Le Royal Meridien, Bahrain and others, which were part of a grand plan by these oil-rich kingdoms to reduce their exclusive reliance on oil wealth. Taiwan, he says, must similarly reduce its dependence on the IT business.
"Now, the competent authorities are diversifying the offering of Taiwan," Borrello said.
Borrello enthuses over the beauty of Toroko and the vast collection of the National Palace Museum, lamenting how few people around the world know of the existence of these marvels. He would like to see a "master plan" which could harness these resources into a tourism strategy.
Has this happened yet? Francesco Borrello is a diplomatic man. It is part of his business. He speaks of the new opportunities created by technology that have reduced the time it takes to develop a tourist area. "Before it used to take 50 years, 100 years. Now with the new technology, advanced opportunities, it is much quicker … but the key is that you must want it to happen." And while the desire for the money to come rolling in is certainly there, Borrello suggests that in his own experience here, the political will is lacking.
"When you look at the tourism industry in Dubai today, you think there was a miracle. There was no miracle; it was just that they had a master plan. With the intention of becoming a great tourism destination and not to be oil dependant. Now you have the best hotel in the world there. Taiwan should take this as an example." He adds, with emphasis, that Taiwan is also different from places like Dubai, and even Singapore, because "Taiwan has the people."
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