Officials yesterday lauded a pro-ject aimed at encouraging young people to travel in Taiwan.
The National Youth Commission described the program, "Youth Travel in Taiwan," as a project aimed at encouraging in-depth traveling and learning experiences around the nation.
It has attracted more than a thousand young people, locals and foreigners alike, since it was launched in 2005, said commission officials yesterday.
"Two years ago, when there were an increasing number of young people traveling abroad, we thought it was unfortunate that many interesting local attractions were overlooked," said Wang Yu-chun (
Thus in the summer of 2005, the commission launched the first itineraries for Youth Travel in Taiwan.
This year, the commission is working with more than 20 non-governmental organizations, with itineraries that focus on topics ranging from nature to history, local culture to art.
"Our itineraries usually include six components -- physical challenges, discussion of public issues, an expert tour guide, do-it-yourself experiences, sightseeing and visits to public works," Wang said.
"For example, we may ask the chief of an Aboriginal village to give the participants a tour of the village. Or we may ask everybody to share their views on prisoners' rights when we visit a prison," she added.
The most popular itinerary, according to the commission, is the Dajia Matsu Pilgrimage in March.
This is an eight-day trip that follows the pilgrims of Matsu, the goddess of sea according to traditional beliefs.
Participants are able to experience not only the culture and rituals of the Matsu tradition, but also life in small farming villages in Taiwan, Wang said.
"So far, this has been the most popular itinerary for foreign visitors," she added.
Unfortunately, the Youth Travel in Taiwan itineraries only offer guides who speak local languages, thus some local linguistic ability is a must.
"If we see an increase in non-Chinese-speaking participants in the project, we certainly will look into including English-speaking guides in future years," Wang said.
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