The highest Starbucks in Taiwan, which is 1,743m above sea level in Nantou County, is to close on Monday, conglomerate Uni-President, the owner of Starbucks, said yesterday.
The Mist Plaza, a tourist village area in Nantou’s Cingjing Farm (清境), opened in 2003. It has the highest-elevated Starbucks and 7-Eleven in the nation.
A Taiwanese specialty coffee shop has been invited to take its place, Mist Plaza director Wang Jen-chu (王仁助) said yesterday.
Photo courtesy of Cingjing Farm
Local tourism operator Chen Wei-lin (陳維林) on Facebook wrote that the Starbucks had become a local landmark and a symbol of tourism in mountain regions.
The branch’s closure signifies a collapse in local tourism and an imbalance in national tourism policies, he said.
The Cingjing 7-Eleven and the Small Swiss Garden 7-Eleven are also no longer operating 24 hours, given low foot traffic at night, higher operating costs and broader decline in consumer spending in the Cingjing area, Chen said.
However, the Mist Plaza 7-Eleven closure was due to insufficient staffing and a sluggish domestic tourism industry, troubles shared among rural tourism areas nationwide, he said.
Cingjing remains easily accessible via frequent “Taiwan Tourist Shuttle” buses from Taichung to Puli (埔里) and hourly buses from Puli to Cingjing, Wang said.
The farm no longer raises cattle to reduce carbon emissions, Wang said.
To encourage overnight stays, the farm has launched in-depth indigenous culture tours and an outdoor starlight cinema, while the Tourism Administration regularly organizes summer stargazing events, he said.
To attract foreign tourists, Cingjing Farm is hosting a special exhibition at Taipei 101 until next month to showcase local scenic beauty, and display historical artifacts and photographs from the Seediq and Yunnan-Burma communities.
On Aug. 1, students from Ren-ai Vocational High School are to perform traditional indigenous dances at Taipei 101.
Customers are invited to visit the closest branch in Nantou’s Puli Township after the Cingjing branch’s final day of operations.
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