The Tourism Bureau and local governments have spent about NT$607.65 million (US$19.37 million) in the past 12 years building skywalks and suspension bridges that fewer tourists are visiting each year, a report published on Thursday by the National Audit Office found.
From 2007 to last year, 13 skywalks and suspension bridges were built around the nation, the office said in its audit report on the financial statements of the central government and its subordinate agencies last year.
Visitor numbers to a suspension bridge in Taiji Canyon (太極峽谷) in Nantou County’s Jhushan Township (竹山) fell 68.79 percent from about 250,000 people in 2011 to about 80,000 in 2017, it said.
Photo: Hsieh Chieh-yu, Taipei Times
In Taoyuan, the Little Wulai Skywalk in Fusing District (復興) attracted about 330,000 visitors last year, down 72.57 percent from about 1.23 million in 2011, it said.
A panoramic skywalk in Nantou County’s Houtanjing Recreation Area (猴探井遊憩區) saw about 1.26 million visitors in 2012, but only about 220,000 last year, an 81.84 percent decrease, it said.
The bureau’s Southwest Coast National Scenic Area Administration spent about NT$12 million building Tainan’s Crystal Church (水晶教堂) in September 2014 and NT$23.33 million on Chiayi County’s High-Heel Wedding Church (高跟鞋教堂) in December 2015, it said.
However, from 2015 to last year, visitor numbers to the shoe-shaped venue fell 75.74 percent from about 1.27 million to about 310,000, it said.
About 2.14 million people visited the High-Heel Wedding Church in 2016, a 35.65 percent decline compared with about 1.38 million last year, it said.
About NT$4 million is spent per year maintaining and managing the suspension bridge in Taiji Canyon, the office said.
Assuming that the 79,565 people who visited in 2017 each spent NT$50 for a full-priced ticket, it would have only earned about NT$3.98 million, not enough to cover its expenses, it said.
Over the past few years, to expand the tourism industry, all levels of the government have built different kinds of tourist facilities, it said.
However, due to the similarities between them, the “dull” views they offer and a lack of accompanying entertainment facilities or integration of tourist resources within the same region, visitor numbers have rapidly decreased, it said.
To prevent the same issues from being repeated, when investing in and building tourist facilities, the government should consider the unique characteristics of the local culture and designate the type and location of the facility accordingly to prevent different regions from building too many of the same kinds of facilities, it said.
Once construction is complete, it should also connect the facility to other tourist resources in the area and design travel itineraries to support the development of sustainable tourism, it said.
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