The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau on Monday said it would make Shoushan (壽山) a “check-in” spot for senior citizens on social media and might invite veteran actress Chen Chen (甄珍) to promote it, despite suspicions that the bureau might already have too many spokespeople for the city.
The biggest problem with tourism in Taiwan is the uneven distribution of visitors, as many attractions get crowds on weekends, but few people on weekdays, bureau Director Pan Heng-hsu (潘恆旭) said.
Since taking office on Dec. 25, Pan has proposed several ideas for generating tourism, a few of which have sparked some controversy.
Photo: Ke Yu-hao, Taipei Times
Pan on Monday said that to boost tourism on weekdays, the city must become “more attractive to tourists who are rich and have plenty of free time,” such as retired people.
In addition to promoting the Love River (愛河), which flows through the city’s center, the bureau plans to highlight Shoushan, a 356m-tall hill along the city’s coastline, as another attraction for senior citizens, he said.
“In Chinese, Shoushan is composed of the characters for ‘longevity’ (shou) and ‘mountain’ (shan), making the ‘long life’ hilltop a lucky destination for older people,” he added.
Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) could invite centenarians and other older people to go hiking on Shoushan and highlight the site’s health benefits, the bureau said.
Chen, an actress who is an idol for the older generation, is one candidate for spokesperson, but the bureau has named other possible mouthpieces, such as TV entertainer Pai Ping-ping (白冰冰) and actress Chang Li-min (張俐敏).
Netizens questioned the celebrities’ popularity, so the bureau has also added singer Amber An (安心亞) to the list.
“Too many” spokespeople is not a problem, as there are 12 months in a year and the bureau is planning many events, Pan said.
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