Taiwan’s hotel industry is in the midsts of a recession, but is it really a result of Chinese tourists staying away? Formosa International Hotels Corp chairman Steven Pan as early as 2013 became concerned, at the time pointing out that there was a permanent oversupply of tourist hotels in Taiwan. Pan warned that the situation would become even more serious by 2017 and predicted the market was about to enter a period of sharply reduced profits and intense competition between brands. Pan’s words have proved extremely prescient.
At the time, Pan pointed out that Taiwan’s tourism industry had been booming for many years and this had led many hoteliers and innkeepers to expand investment. With supply in the market continuing to build, Pan became concerned a consolidation of mid-range hotels and inns would take place once meager profits began to bite and that only the most high-end and low-end hotels would remain relatively unscathed.
At this year’s annual shareholder meeting, Pan stated that the economic cycle for Taiwan’s hotel industry typically lasts seven-to-10 years and said he believes the next four-to-five years will be painful for the industry.
Photo: Wang Yi-hung, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者王憶紅
By comparison, Pan is bullish about the health of the wider Asian region’s hotel market and cites Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Japan as examples. Pan says growth in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia’s markets is extremely robust and said the Japanese market is also in good health, where Pan says he is currently in discussions on five separate projects.
(LIBERTY TIMES, TRANSLATED BY EDWARD JONES)
台灣飯店市場不景氣,是因為中客不來?事實上,晶華國際酒店集團董事長潘思亮早在二○一三年就多次憂心指出,台灣觀光飯店一直處在供過於求的狀況,到二○一七年時恐將更嚴重,市場將進入微利時代、品牌競爭年代。果真一語成讖。
潘思亮當時時指出,台灣觀光業景氣這幾年來一直不錯,也造成飯店、旅館業者擴大投資,在市場供給持續成長下,恐怕中價位旅館就會因進入微利時代而有一波重整,僅有最貴與最便宜的兩種飯店較不受影響。
潘思亮認為,飯店業七到十年有一次景氣循環,因此他在今年股東會也指出,未來四到五年,台灣飯店市場會比較辛苦。
相較於國內飯店市場供過於求,潘思亮看好亞洲飯店市場表現,包括泰國、越南、印尼以及日本。潘思亮指出,泰國、越南、印尼市場的成長力道強勁,日本也不錯,目前就有五個案子洽談中。
(自由時報記者王憶紅)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
It’s another school day with the same ritual. You wake up to your smartphone’s alarm, scroll through messages during your commute, and listen to your favorite playlist with your wireless earbuds between classes. These devices, integrated smoothly into your daily routine, certainly make life more convenient. However, where do these devices end up after you replace them? In fact, the issue of electronic waste is a growing global concern. According to the United Nations, in 2019 alone, we generated an astonishing 53.6 million tons of e-waste—an average of 7.3kg per person. Projections hint at the figure soaring to 110