The Kaohsiung World Games generated NT$2 billion (US$60.8 million) in tourism revenue for the city, the city’s Tourism Bureau said yesterday.
Bureau Director-General Lin Kun-shan (林崑山) said 259,083 tourists visited Kaohsiung during the 11 days of the Games, a 68 percent increase over the same period last year.
About 1.24 million people visited the World Games Expo, with each visitor spending an average of NT$1,406, Lin said.
The city’s 11 department stores reported turnover of NT$600 million — a 15 percent growth in sales — while the turnover at hotels was NT$200 million, he said.
A total of 274,769 Games tickets were sold, bringing in NT$63.3 million, Lin said, adding that NT$11.2 million in tickets were sold for the opening ceremony dance sports events brought in NT$10.2 million.
Information Office Director-General Hsu Ming-chun (許銘春) said a minimum of 8 million people nationwide watched the live broadcast of the opening ceremony while 4.4 million people watched the closing ceremony.
“In the past, when people described Kaohsiung, they usually called it ‘the second-biggest city in Taiwan’ or talked about the volume of containers at the Kaohsiung Harbor,” Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) said.
“But from now on, we can tell the world that Kaohsiung hosted the most successful World Games ever in 2009,” she said.
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