Two million people visited the Taiwan Lantern Festival in Chiayi County on its first weekend, the organizer said, leading to limited shuttle bus availability and spurring the Tourism Administration yesterday to encourage people to visit on a weekday to avoid overcrowding.
Many visitors gave one-star ratings to the nation’s flagship tourism event on Google Maps, saying they were unable to get on the shuttle bus to the venue and had to walk nearly an hour from the high-speed rail station in Chiayi County’s Taibao City (太保).
Chiayi County Commissioner Weng Chang-liang (翁章梁) on Saturday in a Facebook post urged people to come at a different time as the venue was already at capacity.
Photo: Lin Yi-chang, Taipei Times
Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) said the ministry has arranged 30 tour buses to support the shuttle bus service on site, adding that it has asked county police to crack down on cars driving in the shuttle bus express lane on National Palace Museum Boulevard.
More seats would be added at the shuttle bus stop for elderly visitors and parents with children, he said.
The ministry would also seek to ease Internet congestion by increasing the number of movable information bulletin boards and mobile base stations, Chen said.
Meanwhile, the Tourism Administration urged visitors to visit the lantern festival on weekdays to avoid the peak crowds typically seen on weekends.
“Weekday visits not only allow for smoother traffic flow, but also provide a more relaxed environment for photographing the illuminated displays and appreciating the lanterns at a leisurely pace. Visitors can also take the opportunity to plan trips around Chiayi County and Chiayi City, and dine on local cuisine,” it said.
This surge in lantern festival visitors has also boosted local tourism and consumer activity, it added.
Weekend occupancy rates at hotels and guesthouses near the lantern festival venue — particularly in Chiayi County’s Puzih City (朴子) and Taibao — have reached 95 to 100 percent respectively.
Weekend hotel occupancy in Chiayi City has also exceeded 90 percent, it said.
By contrast, weekday occupancy in Chiayi City remains at about 60 percent, it added.
In addition, foot traffic and consumer spending in local commercial districts have also increased significantly.
The Chiayi County Government estimated that revenue in shopping districts in Puzih has grown by 30 to 50 percent, while visitor numbers in Shueishang (水上) and Budai (布袋) townships have risen by about 30 percent.
In Chiayi City, revenue in local shopping districts has also increased by about 30 percent in the past few weeks.
The festival is expected to generate more than NT$23 billion (US$720.6 million) in tourism-related economic benefits for the local economy, the county government said.
FUKUOKA SITUATION: Japanese media reported that the pathogen is expected to be identified by the summer, while the CDC downplayed the idea that it was hMPV A “mysterious cold-like illness” reported in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture does not seem to be a new disease, but Japanese authorities have been asked about the situation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The Fukuoka Prefectural Medical Association on Wednesday told a news conference that a “mystery cold” that has become a hot topic on social media is “highly likely to be caused by some kind of viral infection,” Japan’s KBC News reported. “Many people are experiencing symptoms starting with a sore throat, followed by a runny nose, phlegm and a severe cough,” KBC News reported, citing association officials. Health authorities are
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of upcoming AI and technology events, saying he plans to meet with clients and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) during his visit. After landing at Taipei Songshan Airport, Huang posed for photos with fans and handed out Yakult drinks to reporters and supporters waiting at the scene, saying he has “a lot to do” during the trip. Asked about reports that Nvidia’s planned headquarters site in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park could break ground on May 27, Huang said that if the company holds an event, he would
Carrefour Taiwan is to begin using a new name from the start of July, but it cannot divulge the name until then, the chairman of the supermarket chain's parent company said today. President Chain Store Co chairman Lo Chih-hsien (羅智先) was asked by reporters after a shareholders' meeting to confirm whether the company has settled on a new name for the supermarket brand. In March, the government-registered name of two Carrefour Taiwan branches was quietly changed to "Le Chia Kang" (樂家康) in Chinese, raising speculation that has been selected as the name. Lo said that because of local regulations and contractual obligations, the
The Philippines would likely be involved in any conflict over Taiwan due to its proximity to the democracy claimed by China, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said, reiterating a stance that risks angering Beijing. “In the Philippines, we do not have a choice because Taiwan is so close to the Philippines and we have almost 200,000 Filipino nationals living and working in Taiwan,” Marcos said in an interview with Japanese media in Manila on Monday. The Philippine leader’s comments come ahead of a state visit to Japan next week, where he is to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to discuss security
RSS