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.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
RSS