Taiwanese indie singer-songwriter Crowd Lu (盧廣仲) was chosen as the nation’s official representative for the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle service, the Tourism Bureau said yesterday.
A native of Greater Tainan and a self-taught guitarist, Lu has won the hearts of young people with his musical style and unpretentious, carefree image. He also won Best New Artist and Best Composer at the Golden Melody Awards in 2009.
Chuang Ching-cheng (莊靜真), a section chief at the bureau’s domestic tour division, said it hoped more young people would be encouraged to travel in the summer with Lu being the service’s representative.
“People of all ages are welcome to access the service,” Chuang said. “However, it is summer and we hope to intensify the travel campaign among young people.”
Lu composed a theme song for the service. He said he would recommend the shuttle service route on the northern coast because he went to Tamkang University and liked to travel there with his friends. He added he would also recommend the route in Greater Tainan because it is his hometown.
Lu will meet with fans in Taipei using the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle service on July 24 at the Red House in Ximending (西門町), where fans will have a chance to receive tickets to Lu’s concerts.
Launched in 2010, the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle service is part of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ plan to increase the use of the public transportation system. It has 22 routes, covering tourist attractions in 11 municipalities and counties and six national scenic administration areas.
While the bureau has altered some routes, there are four new ones this year, including the Crown North Coast route (皇冠北海岸線), the Lugang-Dacheng route (鹿港大城線) in Changhua County, the Southwest Coast Route (鹽鄉濱海線) and the Taroko Gorge Route (太魯閣線).
Statistics from the bureau showed the number of travelers using the shuttle service has grown from approximately 760,000 in 2010 to 1.16 million last year.
Tourism Bureau Director-General David Hsieh (謝謂君) said more than 700,000 travelers used the service between January and last month, adding the bureau estimated that the number could potentially top 1.68 million this year.
The bureau and local governments also helped put together 49 different tour packages that cover the shuttle bus fare, tickets to tourist attractions or other transportation systems, hotel coupons and other special offers.
For further details, visit www.taiwantrip.com.tw/Besttour/.
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