The tourism industry in Hualien is forecast to sustain losses of approximately NT$5.3 billion (US$165.13 million) this month following a powerful earthquake on the coast of the county last week, the Hualien County Tourism Association said on Sunday.
Speaking to the Central News Agency, Chen Yi-feng (陳義豐), head of the tourism association, said that the fatal quake has severely impacted Hualien’s tourism industry, estimating that the hotel booking rate for this month is expected to drop to less than 10 percent.
The association previously estimated that about 60 percent of the hotel rooms in Hualien would be booked this month, but the earthquake has ruined the holiday mood of many of the potential visitors during the four-day Tomb Sweeping Day holiday, dragging down the booking rate for the month, Chen said.
Photo: Daniel Ceng, EPA-EFE
Citing statistics released by the Tourism Administration, Chen said that each tourist who stayed in a hotel in Hualien for one night or longer spent an average of NT$5,736 in 2022.
Based on the figure and a booking rate of about 60 percent, the approximately 17,000 hotel rooms in the county could be expected to generate NT$5.3 billion this month, he said.
However, following the quake, the booking rate is forecast to fall to less than 10 percent, causing the expected NT$5.3 billion of income to evaporate, he said.
Among popular hotels in Hualien, Silks Place Taroko (太魯閣晶英酒店), run by Formosa International Hotels Corp (晶華國際酒店集團), has announced the suspension of operations until April 30, citing the massive impact of the earthquake.
Silks Place Toroko has become a hub for rescue efforts in the area, providing accommodation for search-and-rescue workers and quake victims.
Just Sleep Hualien (花蓮捷絲旅飯店), another hotel run by Formosa International Hotels, said its building, which is on Zhongzheng Road in downtown Hualien City, remained unscathed despite the temblor, but its occupancy rate fell to 60 percent during the four-day Tomb Sweeping Day holiday, down from 80 percent.
Bookings for this month as a whole are expected to fall to about 30 percent from the previous estimate of 60 percent, Just Sleep Hualien said.
Azure Hotel Hualien (花蓮藍天麗池飯店), another popular hotel due to its downtown location, has decided to suspend operations until June 30 as the building needs to be structurally reinforced.
Chateau De Chine Hualien (花蓮翰品酒店) has also been shut down as the operator — LDC Hotels & Resorts Group (雲朗觀光集團) — has started rebuilding work.
Chen said he hopes the government would provide more relief funds to the hard-hit tourism industry in Hualien and provide subsidies to tourists to encourage them to visit the county.
The association also urged Taiwan Railway Corp (臺鐵) to provide hotel operators and travel agencies with reserved seats especially for their customers as an incentive to further encourage people to visit Hualien, he said.
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