As well as servicing residents of outlying islands, new ferries built by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications are being used to promote marine tourism among domestic travelers.
The Maritime and Port Bureau in July launched a two-month “Blue Highway Carnival,” during which it initiated trials on five new tourism sea routes.
These include the routes between the Port of Keelung and the Port of Hualien, Keelung and Magong Port in Penghu County, the Port of Anping in Tainan and Magong Port, as well as the route between Keelung and Ishigaki in Japan.
Photo courtesy of the Maritime and Port Bureau
Additionally, there is an island-hopping tour from Chiayi County’s Budai Port to Penghu and Kinmen County.
Using the New Taima ferry, the tour between the Port of Keelung and the Port of Hualien, which was offered from July 25 to 27, attracted 569 travelers, with the occupancy rate in sleeper cabins reaching about 73 percent, the bureau said.
The island-hopping tour connecting Budai, Penghu and Kinmen, which was offered from Aug. 15 to 19, attracted 918 travelers, with the occupancy rate topping 60 percent, it said.
The Penghu to Keelung tour, which was offered on Aug. 25 and 26 using the Penghu ferry, was used by 565 travelers, with the occupancy rate of sleeper cabins reaching 94 percent.
Some travelers on the Penghu-Keelung tour adopted the “fly-ferry” model: taking a flight to Penghu on Aug. 25 and returning to the Port of Keelung the following day.
In addition to sleeper cabins, the Penghu ferry is equipped with a cafe and children’s playrooms. Its cargo area is capable of carrying 80 sedans, four large tour buses and 10 containers.
Passengers can watch musical performances, street artists and movies on the ferry.
The Anping-Magong tour is available every Tuesday and Friday this month, while the Keelung-Ishigaki tour is to be launched later this month, the bureau said.
“The marine highways function both as tourism routes and an important backup to facilitate travel to and from outlying islands in emergency situations, such as ones caused by adverse weather conditions,” bureau Director-General Yeh Hsieh-lung (葉協隆) said.
When access to Suhua Highway (Highway No. 18) is disrupted by natural disasters, at least one trip on a ferry could be arranged the next day to transport travelers who are headed to the east coast, he said.
Yeh said the bureau is having a 8,000-tonne ferry built that would be used for tourism and as a backup vessel for national emergencies.
The ferry should be able to dock at any seaport in Taiwan proper and outlying islands, and would be equipped with 300 beds, 200 seats, a cafe and leisure facilities, Yeh said.
The ship’s main mission would be to serve as a backup system for national emergencies and to transport travelers among different outlying islands, aside from carrying tourists, he said.
The new ship is scheduled to be operational by 2029, he said.
The government would outsource the operation of the ship to a contractor, who would receive subsidies for tasks conducted during emergencies, he added.
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