Foreign tourists to Taiwan let their stomachs do the talking when asked what brought them to the country in 2001. According to the Tourism Bureau, a newly released survey shows food is the answer.
In a poll of foreign visitors in 2001, the bureau found that 58 percent said cuisine was the number one reason they chose to come.
The tourists said they were impressed to find that not only did Taiwan have a diversity of innovative Western foods and delicious Taiwanese cuisine -- but the nation had a plethora of delicacies from virtually every province of China.
Scenic attractions followed food on the list with 44 percent of those responding citing it as their prime reason for coming to Taiwan, with location next at 24 percent and the historical and cultural heritage of the country at 20 percent, bureau officials said.
Taiwan's historical and cultural heritage, which was the No. 1 attraction for foreign tourists in 1999, fell to third place in 2000 and fourth place in 2001.
The poll found that once the tourists arrived, they found the greatest appeal for them was the friendliness and hospitality that the Taiwanese people showed them, making "friendliness and hospitality" the greatest surprise for foreign visitors after arrival.
"Gourmet delicacies" and "historical and cultural heritage" tied for second place in terms of better impressions than expected, followed by "natural and scenic attractions" and "social order" -- both in third place.
The poll also found that the Taroko Gorge National Park was the most popular spot for foreign tourists in 2001.
The park was followed by the National Palace Museum, Alishan, Window on China -- a park with miniatures of such places as the Great Wall and the Forbidden City in Beijing -- and Sun Moon Lake, in that order.
Other attractions included Kenting National Park, Wulai, Taipei's night markets, the eastern district of Taipei City, Yangmingshan National Park, the Tienmu area, the Tamshui River and Hsimenting, in that order.
The Tourism Bureau says Japan was the largest source of tourists in 2001.
The bureau's statistics showed that 1,485,350 tourists visited Taiwan in the first seven months of this year, of whom about 36.4 percent, or more than 540,000, were from Japan.
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