The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a proposal to invest NT$10 billion (US$323.1 million) in domestic and international tourism to spur NT$122.6 billion of economic growth in the sector, the Tourism Administration said.
The four-year plan — which focuses on building tourism infrastructure in mountainous areas and the south — could be launched as early as next year, the agency told a weekly post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei.
The Alishan (阿里山), Penghu, Sun Moon Lake (日月潭), Siraya (西拉雅), East Longitudinal Valley, East Coast, Southwest Coast and Dapeng Bay (大鵬灣) national scenic areas, as well as Yushan (玉山) and Kenting (墾丁) national parks, and the Pingtung County Government would jointly implement the program under the agency’s direction, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Executive Yuan
The goal is to bolster the competitiveness of local attractions in the international tourism market and increase visitors by 10 percent, it said.
The agency prepared policies aimed at promoting domestic tourism and increasing the quality of the tourist experience in the targeted locations, Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Huang Shih-fang (黃勢芳) said.
The agency is drafting a proposal for Taiwanese businesses to incentivize their employees to vacation domestically, he said.
The Tourism Administration and Taiwan External Trade Development Council are to launch a collaboration to encourage foreigners visiting Taiwan on business to travel to other parts of the nation for pleasure, Huang said.
Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Kuo-hsien (林國顯) said that, as of Wednesday, 6.93 million foreign nationals had visited Taiwan this year.
That puts the nation on track to beat last year’s 7.85 million visitors, he said.
A proposed agency-run tourism education and research institute, designed to burnish Taiwan’s global image as a holiday location, facilitate policy research and increase the industry’s access to expertise, would open by June next year, Lin said.
NETWORK-MAPPING PROJECT: The database contains 170 detailed files of Taiwanese politicians and about 23 million records of household registration data in Taiwan China has developed a network-mapping project targeting political figures and parties in Taiwan to monitor public opinion during elections and to craft tailored influence campaigns aimed at dividing Taiwanese society, according to documents leaked by Chinese technology firm GoLaxy (中科天璣). The documents, collected by Taipei-based Doublethink Lab, showed a database was specifically created to gather detailed information on Taiwanese political figures, including their political affiliations, job histories, birthplaces, residences, education, religion and a brief biography about them. Several notable Taiwanese politicians are in the database, including President William Lai (賴清德), former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍),
RECOGNITION: Former Fijian prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry said that Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy serves as a stabilizing force in the Indo-Pacific region Taiwan can lead the unification of the Chinese people, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former Polish president Lech Walesa said in Taipei yesterday, adding that as the world order is changing, peaceful discussion would find good solutions, and that the use of force and coercion would always fail. Walesa made the remarks during his keynote address at a luncheon of the Yushan Forum in Taipei, titled “Indo-Pacific Partnership Prospects: Taiwan’s Values, Technology and Resilience,” organized by the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Walesa said that he had been at the forefront of a big peaceful revolution and “if
North Korea tested nuclear-capable rocket launchers, state media reported yesterday, a day after Seoul detected the launch of about 10 ballistic missiles. The test comes after South Korean and US forces launched their springtime military drills, due to run until Thursday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Saturday oversaw the testing of the multiple rocket launcher system (MRLS), the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The test involved 12 600mm-caliber ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers and two artillery companies, it said. Kim said the drill gave Pyongyang’s enemies, within the 420km striking range, a sense of “uneasiness” and “a deep understanding
UPGRADED MISSILE: The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology is reportedly to conduct a live-fire test of the Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile on Thursday next week The US Army is planning to build new facilities to boost explosives production and strengthen its supply chain, a move aimed at addressing munitions shortages and supporting obligations to partners including Taiwan, Ukraine and Israel, Defense News reported. The army has issued a sources sought notice for a proposed Center of Excellence at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky, the report said. The facility would serve as a hub within the US industrial base for the production of key military explosives, including research department explosives (RDX) and high melting explosives (HMX), while also supporting research and development of next-generation materials. The proposed
RSS