While Jioufen’s Old Street in New Taipei City has been virtually bursting at the seams recently, business owners in Kenting, who have seen a collapse in the number of tourists to the area, can only look on and weep. According to statistics released by Kenting National Park Headquarters, this year more than 200,0000 fewer tourists visited the area than last year; an even steeper decline of 700,000 when compared with figures for the year before last.
According to the national park headquarters, during this year’s summer holiday period (July and August) approximately 930,000 tourists visited the Hengchun Peninsula, the first time the number has fallen below one million in the last five years.
The “Winter Is Coming” feeling that has descended over the peninsula is not just being felt by ordinary hotels and guesthouses, even Kenting’s upscale hotels are feeling the freeze. One upmarket hotel that normally charges over NT$10,000 per night to stay in one of its rooms, this summer lowered the price by NT$1,000, yet still experienced a more than 3 percent drop in the occupancy rate: The worst numbers for the hotel in 10 years. Other hotel owners have managed to keep the hotels’ occupancy rate above 80 percent, but have had to swallow a 30 percent drop in net turnover.
Photo: Hou Cheng-hsu
照片：自由時報記者侯承旭
According to a veteran of Kenting’s hotel industry, despite hotels being forced to lower prices to keep the occupancy rate up, the good news is that “Kenting seems to be nearing the bottom of its economic slump. Hotels just need to maintain a nice environment, good service and reasonable prices, and then the only way is up.”
(LIBERTY TIMES, TRANSLATED BY EDWARD JONES)
新北市九份老街近期出現「擠爆」畫面，看在旅遊人次「雪崩」的墾丁地區業者眼裡無限唏噓。根據墾丁國家公園管理處（簡稱墾管處）暑假旅遊人次統計，對比去年減少超過二十萬人次，比前年更整整下滑七十萬人次。
根據墾管處統計資料，恆春半島今年暑假（七、八月）旅遊人次約九十三萬餘人，是近五年來首度跌破百萬。
這波「凜冬將至」的氣氛，不只普通飯店民宿有感，連金字塔頂端的高檔飯店都受「凍」，某家每晚房價破萬的高檔飯店統計，今年暑假房價下調千元，住房率仍下滑三％以上，是近十年最糟。其他飯店業者，看似住房率勉強維持在八成以上，總體營業額卻都下修三成。
資深飯店從業人員說，飯店下修房價撐住房率，不過好消息是「墾丁幾乎利空出盡，只要保持好環境，維持好服務及平實價格，應該不會更壞了！」
(自由時報)
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