Delegations of Chinese travel agency managers from Hangzhou and Ningbo in Zhejiang Province are to visit tourist destinations in Kaohsiung and Pingtung in the spring, a Kaohsiung City Government official said.
The tours, resulting from a recent tourism promotion trip to the two Chinese cities by a tourism industry alliance from Kaohsiung City and County and Pingtung County, are expected to give a boost to southern Taiwan’s tourism sector, said Lai Jui-lung (賴瑞隆), chief secretary of the Kaohsiung City Government’s Tourism Bureau.
A number of Chinese tour groups reportedly canceled trips to Kaohsiung City following a visit by exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in late August and the screening of a documentary about exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer in the city in September.
ENTICE TOURISTS
The city government has since come under pressure to work on measures to entice Chinese tourists to the area.
As part of their efforts to develop tourism, Lai, Pingtung County and Kaohsiung County officials joined the industry alliance for the trip to Hangzhou and Ningbo, where they held two tourism promotions to spark interest in southern Taiwan as a travel destination among Chinese tour operators, Lai said.
During their visit, the delegation interacted positively with Zhejiang tourism officials and exchanged views on boosting tourism on both sides, Lai said.
Zhejiang tourism officials said visitors from their province account for one-fifth of the total number of Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan and told Lai they hoped the promotional campaigns would help attract more Zhejiang residents to southern Taiwan and give the tourism sector there a lift.
FIVE-DAY PACKAGES
Lai said travel agencies in Hangzhou and Ningbo were well positioned to arrange five-day packages to southern Taiwan because there are seven weekly nonstop flights between Kaohsiung International Airport and the two cities.
Tour operators have begun devising customized tours for the two Chinese delegations and Lai said the Kaohsiung City Government in particular would offer them special deals, including giving them free admission to sightseeing cruises around Kaohsiung Port.
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