The outlying island chain of Matsu will establish a duty-free shopping center with boutique stores selling luxury products later this year as the Lienchiang County (連江縣) Government continues its efforts to attract more Chinese tourists following a recent referendum in which residents voted in favor of a casino for the same reason, a tourism official said.
The group of islands is located about 20km from China, but sees only about 7,000 visitors from that country each year. It wants a lot more.
The county is preparing for the hoped-for influx of tourists by opening shops selling luxury brands, Matsu National Scenic Area Administration director Guu Yung-yuan (古永源) said.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
“We want Matsu to be recognized as a destination for shopping,” Guu said, adding that Matsu’s shift in image, from a pristine island to luxurious vacation location, could appeal to Chinese tourists who are known for their strong interest in luxury brands and Taiwanese-made goods.
The duty-free shopping center will mainly sell Taiwanese goods.
The boutique stores will sell top brands — like Gucci or LV — at prices that are cheaper than Hong Kong and other Chinese coastal cities, Guu said.
The market potential is huge, Guu added, explaining that Chinese tourists are fond of a wide range of goods, from natural soaps to skincare products and electric rice cookers.
Matsu will first open a 1,600m2 duty-free mall on Saturday. It is hoped that the retail outlet will generate annual revenue of NT$60 million (US$1.99 million).
By the end of October, Guu said, more boutique stores will be opened by Tasa Meng Co, which runs similar businesses at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
Setting the casino factor aside, Guu said he hoped Matsu’s new branding would help it to attract about 200,000 tourists a year for the next 10 years, with Chinese tourists accounting for half of that figure. It currently receives about 100,000 tourists annually.
An important frontline outpost during key periods of conflict with Chinese Communist forces, Matsu remained under a war-zone civil administration until 1992, but has since relied on tourism to promote economic growth.
However, the lack of jobs has forced many young people to leave Matsu to work in Taiwan proper. Hope that more jobs can be created was one of the key reasons that a majority of those who cast votes were in favor of the proposal to build a casino in the recent referendum.
Guu said the “small three links” framework established in 2001 allowing limited postal, transport and trade links between some Chinese cities and Taiwanese-held outlying islands used to generate a significant number of Chinese tourists for Matsu.
At one point, the “small three links” served as a major channel for Chinese tourists wishing to visit Taiwan and nearly 20,000 Chinese people made use of it in 2009.
However, the popularity of that approach has faded following the launch of direct flights between major Chinese and Taiwanese cities in 2008. Since then, the number of Chinese visitors to Matsu has fallen, with only 7,630 visiting last year, accounting for just 7 percent of all visitors to the islands.
Direct links mean Chinese tourists no longer have to go through Matsu or other outlying islands to visit Taiwan, Guu said.
Nevertheless, he acknowledged that challenges lay ahead for Matsu as it tries to reinvent itself in a bid to appeal to Chinese tourists.
One factor of concern is travel costs for Chinese tourists and discussions on ways to lower those costs is a pressing issue, Guu said.
Matsu also needs to provide more flexible ferry services, Guu said, adding that a combination of chartered and scheduled trips could be launched in the future to cut down on current transportation costs, which average about NT$3,000 for each round trip.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS