Taipei witnessed the start of its largest-ever long-term expo yesterday, to the joy of those waiting to see floral displays of both real and high-tech varieties, and of local hotel managers who predict a blossoming of profits.
The Grand Hotel, the only hotel in the capital that overlooks all four parks used for the Taipei International Flora Expo, is cashing in on its location.
“We expect our room sales to grow 10 to 20 percent during the expo period,” a staffer in the hotel’s public relations division said. “At present, about 70 percent of these rooms for the six months of the expo have been reserved.”
Other companies joined the Grand Hotel in launching packages aimed at garnering a share of the expo-related accommodation market.
“The room reservation for our package launched between mid-October and early this month has reached about 15 percent of our goal for the six-month-long expo period,” said Amber Chuang (莊千慧), assistant public relations manager at the Caesar Park Hotel in Taipei.
Similarly, the Grand Formosa Regent Taipei has predicted that its room-occupancy rate for this month would surpass 80 percent thanks to the expo.
The flora expo is expected to attract 8 million visits and earn NT$14 billion (US$465 million) for the local tourism industry in its six-month run through late April, the Taipei City government said.
The expo came to Taiwan after the central government launched a major plan in recent years to boost the industry and as local hotels have worked to develop distinctive features, said Steven Pan (潘思亮), chairman of Formosa International Hotels Corp, the owner of Grand Formosa Regent.
He described the flora expo as “a much awaited event” for local hotels, as it wold attract tourists from home and aboard.
However, Pan stressed that the government and hotels should use the event as a test to see if their efforts have produced satisfactory results.
“We should take this opportunity to examine if Taiwan’s tourism industry is ready or not,” he wrote in a statement yesterday.
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