The number of tourists visiting from South Korea reached 104,000 in the first quarter of the year, a 30 percent growth compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Bureau said last week.
The bureau has credited the growth of South Korean tourism to successful marketing through the South Korean television series On Air, a story on the entertainment industry in South Korea featuring Soong Yoon-ah and some other famous South Korean actors.
Wayne Liu (劉喜臨), director of the bureau’s international affairs, said its representative in Seoul learned that the crew of On Air had planned to shoot some of its outdoor scenes in another Asian country.
The representative then approached the director and tried to persuade the director to shoot some of the scenes in Taiwan.
Despite having several other options at hand, the crew eventually decided that they would use tourist attractions in Taiwan as the settings for On Air.
Six of the 20 episodes featured some of best-known scenic spots, including Taipei 101, the National Palace Museum, Jiufen (九份) in Taipei County, Taroko Gorge and Kenting.
Liu said the travel expenses were paid entirely by the crew. He said the bureau merely offered administrative assistance to the crew while they were shooting.
The bureau said in a statement that the television series was quite popular in South Korea, with the ratings of the last episode topping 25 percent on the day it was aired.
The bureau said that the first episode was broadcast in February and that since then many travel agencies in South Korea have received telephone calls inquiring about the scenic spots that appeared in the series.
The momentum built up by the On Air phenomenon has encouraged the bureau to join this year’s Korea World Travel Fair to introduce a series of activities scheduled for the 2008-2009 Travel Taiwan Year.
A group of Taiwanese hoteliers and travel agencies also joined the fair in Seoul, which ended yesterday.
South Korea’s tourism industry has not always focused much attention on Taiwan.
Direct flights by the national carriers of the two countries were even canceled at one point, following the termination of diplomatic relations in 1992.
Those flights were restored in 2004 and both domestic and overseas airliners have since provided direct flight services between Taipei and major cities in South Korea.
The bureau said that the number of trips by outbound South Korean travelers has topped 103 million annually, making it a target of other tourism bureaus around the world as well.
Aftershocks from a magnitude 6.2 earthquake that struck off Yilan County at 3:45pm yesterday could reach a magnitude of 5 to 5.5, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Seismological Center technical officer Chiu Chun-ta (邱俊達) told a news conference that the epicenter of the temblor was more than 100km from Taiwan. Although predicted to measure between magnitude 5 and 5.5, the aftershocks would reach an intensity of 1 on Taiwan’s 7-tier scale, which gauges the actual effect of an earthquake, he said. The earthquake lasted longer in Taipei because the city is in a basin, he said. The quake’s epicenter was about 128.9km east-southeast
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
BE CAREFUL: The virus rarely causes severe illness or death, but newborns, older people and those with medical conditions are at risk of more severe illness As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today. The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month. Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716
The New Taipei City Government today warned about the often-overlooked dangers of playing in water, and recommended safe swimming destinations to cool off from the summer heat. The following locations in the city as safe and fun for those looking to enjoy the water: Chienshuiwan (淺水灣), Baishawan (白沙灣), Jhongjiao Bay (中角灣), Fulong Beach Resort (福隆海水浴場) and Sansia District’s (三峽) Dabao River (大豹溪), New Taipei City Tourism and Travel Department Director-General Yang Tsung-min (楊宗珉) said. Outdoor bodies of water have variables outside of human control, such as changing currents, differing elevations and environmental hazards, all of which can lead to accidents, Yang said. Sudden
RSS