Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) yesterday confirmed that the Central Epidemic Command Center has approved Genting Hong Kong’s plan to restart its island-hopping tours in Taiwan using the Explorer Dream, one of its cruise ships based in the Port of Keelung.
The company plans to restart cruise ship tours next month, he said.
Because of the northeast monsoon, the tours would be limited to Taiwan proper, travel agencies said, adding that island-hopping tours would not become available until summer.
Photo courtesy of Dream Cruises
Meanwhile, at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee yesterday, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) should make COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for tourism workers ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday next month, which is a peak time for domestic travel.
Lin also proposed an amendment to the Act for the Development of Tourism (發展觀光條例) that would raise the fine for hoteliers to NT$500,000 if it is proven that their negligence in enforcing disease prevention guidelines led to an outbreak of COVID-19 or other diseases and hurt the national interest.
Under the current act, Novotel Taipei Taoyuan International Airport was fined only NT$150,000 for causing a cluster infection of COVID-19, which in turn led to a spike in domestically transmitted cases, he said, calling the punishment too lenient.
In other developments, the ministry yesterday said it opposed to amending the Act for the Development of Tourism that would authorize the Tourism Bureau to regulate campgrounds and penalize illegal operators, adding that it would first work with the Council of Agriculture (COA) to relax the use of forest and farmland.
The amendment, which was proposed by DPP Legislator Chang Liao Wan-chien (張廖萬堅) and 19 other DPP lawmakers, would put the bureau in charge of overseeing campsites nationwide and fining illegal camp operators.
More than 2 million people in Taiwan camp regularly, but camping sites are built on properties of different government agencies, the lawmakers said in a statement, adding that a dedicated government agency is needed to oversee campsites, protect campers and ensure sustainable development of camping activities in the nation.
Earlier this year, the MOTC and the COA reached a consensus that the Ministry of the Interior should first amend its Regulations on Non-Urban Land Use Control (非都市土地使用管制規則), which would legalize campgrounds of 1 hectare or smaller on the condition that they cause low environmental impact, the MOTC said.
If the campground was built on farmland, 90 percent of the land should still be reserved for agricultural purposes, it said, adding that campsite managers must still secure permissions from administrative agencies in charge of the lands where campgrounds are built.
Wang told lawmakers that only about 10 percent of campgrounds in Taiwan are legal, adding that the ministry is working with COA officials to relax the use of forest and farmlands to allow the installation of camping facilities.
“In the short run, we will assist illegal camp operators in becoming legal. We cannot amend the Act for the Development of Tourism now and start fining them,” he said.
DPP lawmakers serving on the legislative committee pushed back on the bill.
“If the agreement between the MOTC and the COA is to be followed, only one-10th of a 1 hectare farmland can be used to build a campground. This cannot be done. The law would not be effective in regulating campsites across the nation if the two agencies do not deliberate on a reasonable ratio between camping area and farming area. Moreover, about 70 percent of campgrounds would remain illegal under the proposed amendment,” DPP Legislator Chen Ming-wen (陳明文) said.
“The nation has more than 1,600 camping sites. If the committee passes the proposed amendment, some counties might have 100 illegal campgrounds overnight,” Lin said, questioning whether the MOTC could deal with so many illegal operators all at once.
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