Taiwan's tourist industry has been hit hard by the 921 earthquake, which local media estimated has cost the industry approximately NT$1 billion.
"We [the travel agencies] are also quake victims," said Teng Ming-chang (鄧明昌), secretary general of the Taipei Association of Travel Agents.
According to the association, around 90 percent of inbound tours and 20 percent of outbound tours have been cancelled. Several industry watchers noted that one-third of travel agencies could be put out of business as a result of the quake. There are nearly 3,000 travel agencies in Taiwan.
Bobby Travel Service, one of Taipei's leading travel agencies, reported that around 90 percent of its inbound tours and 30 percent of its outbound tours have been cancelled.
An executive of a Taipei travel agency specializing in domestic tours said around two-thirds of Taiwan's popular tourist attractions are in disaster areas, including Sun Moon Lake, Alishan and Formosa Aboriginal Cultural Village. As a result, tourism business is bound to plummet, he said.
The remaining major attractions are Hualien, the Northern Coast Island Highway area and Kenting.
"However, Kenting is in the midst of the monsoon season lasting from October to November," the executive said. "And people are afraid to travel in mountainous areas like Hualien and the Northern Coast Island Highway area. In addition, most people are not really in the mood to travel now."
According to the executive, the Tourism Bureau's order to schools and government bureaus to temporarily halt tours has made the situation worse.
In response to the stagnant business, many travel agencies have offered discount prices on tours and have changed marketing strategies.
"We have asked hotels to give us more discounts. Furthermore, instead of targeting group trips like we did in the past, now we target individual customers," the executive said. He said that 85 percent of his company's tours have been cancelled since the earthquake.
Central Taiwan's tourist industry has been effected even more severely. Chuan Lien (全聯), a travel agency in Nantou, reported that roughly 80 percent of the buildings housing Nantou's 33 travel agencies were damaged by the quake.
Most agencies now have to turned to a sole income source -- selling plane tickets. But that business before the quake had brought in just 1 percent of total revenues, and most companies have been forced to lay off employees or send them to other branches.
When asked whether the Nantou Association of Travel Agents could offer any help, an owner of a travel agency responded, "What can they do? The building of the association itself even collapsed."
The owner added: "I do not think the disaster area can be fully restored for three to five years, so most travel agencies in this areas will probably go out of business."
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