Visitors to Taipei Zoo this year are up 48 percent, according to the city government’s Department of Information and Tourism.
Statistics published by the city government on Wednesday showed that the number of visitors to the zoo increased far more than any of the city’s other tourist attractions, to an average of 12,700 visitors a day.
“After the giant panda cub Yuan Zai (圓仔) became was made available to view on Jan. 6, visitors to the zoo surged,” department Commissioner Sun Ting-lung (孫廷龍) said, adding that the number has since gradually decreased as the panda cub matured.
The zoo is Taipei’s fourth-most popular destination, behind Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and the National Palace Museum, Sun said.
Taipei 101 ranked sixth.
Sun attributed the popularity of the two memorial halls to the high number of tourists from China.
The two sites are also free, whereas tickets to Taipei 101’s observation deck cost NT$450, he said.
Visitors to Taipei are up 25 percent so far and are expected to reach 9 million by the end of the year, Sun said, with the increase driven by a 37 percent rise in visitors from China, who account for almost half the city’s tourists.
Taiwan loosened restrictions on independent travelers from China this year, raising the daily cap on tourists by 25 percent and increasing the number of Chinese cities that qualify from 10 to 36, the department said.
In addition, foreigners’ usage of the city’s travel service centers has increased by 150 percent this year, with 1.2 million foreigners using the centers.
The 13 centers are located near major traffic areas and tourists sites, and provide travel materials and services such as helping foreigners register for the city’s free wireless service.
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