Shifen Scenic Area
Development and Management of Tourism Resources
The Tourism Bureau created value-added services from existing tourism resources and management mechanisms with the aid of smart technology. Under the Specialty Value-added Service Project, it helped local governments to develop international visitor sites and promote the internationalization, specialization, and branding of the tourism industry in the areas of establishment, management, certification, and guidance.
Forward-looking Tourism Development Plan
In line with the Executive Yuan's "Salute to the Mountains" and "Salute to the Seas" policies and spirit of forward-looking infrastructure promoted by the Executive Yuan, the Tourism Bureau strengthened investment in developing tourism environment infrastructure, establish-ing a safe travel environment, and overcoming the stereotype among international travelers that "Taiwan equals Taipei." The Bureau also enhanced and optimized tourism service facili-ties, promoted in-depth experiential tourism activities and longer visitor stays, and used new digital technology to change and reshape the competitive advantages of the tourism industry, create new company types and business models, and generate value in the tourism industry.
Objective:
Six national scenic area administrations - Northeast Coast, North Coast and Guanyinshan, Sun Moon Lake, Alishan, East Coast, and Penghu - were selected to propose improvement strate-gies in conjunction with tourism industry health checks and resource inventories to confirm development hubs and improvement targets, introduce e-commerce and people/traffic flow management systems, and create attractions with world-class charm.
Sixteen tour routes among the 27 tourism belts in the northern, central, southern, eastern, and outlying island areas of Taiwan under the Regional Flagship Tourism Plan were selected to conduct local tourism resource inventories and health checks through tourism circle platforms and propose improvement strategies based on the health check results. Tourism development subsidies were provided to local governments to link tourism routes at 13 national scenic areas under the Tourism Bureau's jurisdiction and prepare top attractions in tourist belts to create a friendly travel service environment.
Fulong Beach Recreation Corridor development project
Forward-looking Special Budget: The National Water Environment Improvement Plan
The National Water Environment Improvement Plan was implemented to improve Taiwan's water environments with a focus on "creating integrated waterfronts and improving environmental op-timization." Organized by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and joined by the Environmental Protection Administration, Ministry of the Interior, Council of Agriculture, and Tourism Bureau, the plan aims to create "attractive waterfronts" under a vision of "symbiosis, coexistence, and co-prosperity with water."
Project tasks are divided according to operation type. The Tourism Bureau is mainly in charge of implementing subsidies to local governments for scenic site landscape renovation after water envi-ronment improvement work to create waterfront environments and distinctive landscapes at recre-ational areas.
Highlight projects completed in 2020 with Tourism Bureau subsidy support included: the connec-tion of bike paths in the Keelung River Recreational Corridor and near the historic district on the left bank of the Sanxia River; improvement of the water environment at Ma-yuliao Park in Tai-bao City; improvement and beautification of factories and stations around the Anping Water Re-sources Recovery Center in Tainan City; canal catchment environment and facilities development in Tainan City; development of the Wulang Recreation Area at the Jinzun Fishing Harbor; and environmental and landscape renovation of tern-watching sites at Qingfan Harbor.
Anping Canal in Tainan City
2020 Plan for the Development of Local Travel Environments for Experiential Tourism
This plan set three goals consistent with the concept of the Value-added Tourism Spots Project: "respecting the environment and resource sustainability," "integrating features and connecting attractions," and "creating friendly facilities and high-quality service." Local governments re-ceived support to develop recreation sites with local, ecological, green, caring, human-centered, and sustainable features. In 2020, local governments implemented 75 such projects with NT$639 million in investment subsidies.
Spotlight projects: Local governments received assistance to improve tourism and recreational facilities. These included the following: 1) development of a user-friendly environment at the Shifen Scenic Area, New Taipei City - the first phase of improvements to guide signage at visitor sites throughout the city; 2) improvements to the Ginger Island Gold Peninsula in Taoyuan; 3) in Neiwan, improvements to parking facilities for the Old Street area and Ginger Lily Park; 4) im-provement of the lighting environment in Hsinchu; 5) development of the tourist environment in Miaoli; 6) improvement of tourist service facilities at Tiezhenshan's Jianjing Recreation Area in Dajia; 7) improvement of the Nine-Turns Lane and other meandering routes in Lugang Township; 8) construction of bamboo and wood plank trail in Gukeng Township; 9) creation of a tourism corridor connecting the Heya Recreation Area in Nantou’s Lugu Township, the Abaquan Mountain Ridge Trail in Zhuqi, and the Daofeng Inland Sea Coastal area in Tainan City;10) the Chaishan Environmental Construction Project; 11) improvement of the indigenous tourism envi-ronment in Mudan Township and the landscape near the Dahu Scenic Area; 12) development of the waterfront tourism environment in Sanzhan; 13) development of tourism sites and surround-ing environment in Lanyu Township; 14) improvement of the bay mouth beach and surrounding environment in Guan'ao; and 15) development of the travel environment at Taiwan's northern-most point. Anticipated benefits of some of these efforts are highlighted below:
Three Goals of the Plan to Develop Local Experiential Tourism Environments
Respecting the Environment and Resource Sustainability
Integrating Features and Connecting Attractions
Creating Friendly Facilities and High-Quality Services
Shifen Scenic Area
Miaoli Tourist Environment Development Project
Miaoli County
The Miaoli Tourist Environment Development Project: This project in Miaoli County created the Rhinoceros Beetle Ecological Park along an existing bike path, and linked it with downtown Miaoli, Gongweixu, the Tongluo Tunnel and other attractions to expand the variety of tourism itineraries and encourage longer visitor stays.
Heya Recreation Area in Lugu Township
Nantou County
Lugang Township Nine-Turns Lane and Other Meandering Routes Environmental Improvement Project
Changhua County
The Lugang Township Nine-Turns Lane and Other Meandering Routes Environmental Improvement Project: This project in Changhua County was coordinated with the Lugang National History Scenic Area Plan. It constructed brick path links to the Wenwu Temple, Longshan Temple, and other historic sites to extend visitor walking routes.
Daofeng Inland Sea Coastal Tourism Corridor
Tainan City
Chaishan
Kaohsiung City
The Chaishan Environmental Construction Project: This Kaohsiung City project improved the environment at the Xiziwan Seawall Walkway and scenic platform and area surrounding the Chaishan Trailhead to enhance the quality of the environmental landscape and improve the safety and quality of movement routes in the area.
Key Points of Tourism Resource Development and Management
Promoting Tourism Circles and Industry Alliances
The Tourism Bureau selected seven of its national scenic area administrations - Northeast Coast, Tri-Mountain, Sun Moon Lake, Alishan, Yunlin, Chiayi and Tainan, Siraya, and Dapeng Bay – to serve as platforms for the integration of local organizations and industry partners into 10 re-gional tourism industry alliances founded on the concept of tourism belts. Theme branded tour-ism products were determined and then implemented in three directions: scenic area preparation, domestic tourism, and international marketing. Private sector resources were integrated to study and propose a pragmatic, progressive rolling, and market-driven implementation plan to invigor-ate local industry, attract visitors, and achieve sustainable regional tourism development.
Highlight Achievements
Northeast Coast
The Greater Northeast Coast Tourism Circle held seven local consensus-building meetings. Its inaugural meeting in December was joined by 959 participants from 205 units. The group planned several innovative tours for launch next year, developed 30 industry style models, and filmed videos promoting 14 townships and districts in the tourism circle.
Tri-Mountain
The Tri-Mountain Tourism Circle launched the Wu Feng Touring holiday tourist bus and demon-stration routes integrating the resources of various ministries and local governments. The group created an example of regional tourism alliance integration under the theme of "Taichung-Changhua Food Tourism: City and Country Feasts." It also linked restaurant, hotel, recreation, shopping, and travel industries in Taichung, Changhua, Hsinchu, and Miaoli counties to increase the output value of tourism circles.
Alishan
The 235 Tourism Circle promoted by the Alishan National Scenic Area Administration estab-lished the "235+1 Local Connections Alliance" with local roots and global vision. The group in-troduced the Alishan Light Travel Banquet for in-depth, high-quality, slow travel in indigenous areas; formed the Chiayi Team of carefully-selected souvenir shops to integrate online and offline shopping services; and partnered with the Chiayi City Government and local businesses to launch "Tai-bi ti Ka": the first city marketing campaign in Taiwan to highlight the local charms of Tai-wanese culture. In addition, the Greater Caoling Tourism Circle brought together more than 50 industry partners to plan and develop five innovative tours. The group will hold at least five in-ternational and ecological marketing and promotion activities and assist the transformation of six specialty stores to strengthen linkages between Caoling and Alishan and significantly increase the visibility of the Greater Caoling Tourism Circle. The Greater Alishan Tourism Circle launched the Alishan EASY GO e-Commerce Platform and generated over NT$12 million in sales.
Yunlin, Chiayi and Tainan
More than 30 local companies in Yunlin, Chiayi, and Tainan were recruited to sell local specialty farm and fishery products at the Qigu Products Store. Yunlin, Chiayi, and Tainan area businesses were invited to join a Greater Chiayi tourism resource matching event, the Taipei Tourism Expo-sition, and Taipei International Travel Fair (ITF). Assistance was provided for the establishment of the Taiwan Southwest Coast Industry Cultural Tourism Association, the planning and holding of the Taiwan Southwest Coast Tourism Circle Experiential Travel Carnival, and salt worker bento training courses.
Dapeng Bay
The Industry Synergy Tourism Circle was established to promote smart tourism and digital trans-formation. The group held five Pingtung Tourism Circle Regional Tourism Industry Forums and the Pingtung Tourism Circle Pearl Product Business Matching Meeting. Online travel agencies (OTAs) facilitated exchanges between tourism technology and e-commerce companies and Ping-tung businesses to advance digital transformation and cooperation. The Pingtung Tourism Circle held its inaugural meeting and signed a memorandum of cooperation with ezTravel, introduced over 200 "Pearl" tourism highlights and 43 travel "Necklaces" for online sale, and held three se-lection mechanisms and two master lectures on improving product quality.
Siraya
The scenic area held two local explanatory meetings to build local consensus, continued to pro-vide local industry guidance through training courses and workshops, and encouraged cross-industry alliances. Tourism circles were formed to plan three themed tour routes integrating food, hotel, sightseeing, shopping, and travel. Celebrity guides were invited to shoot promotional vide-os and publish travel books.
Greater Northeast Coast Tourism Circle Consensus-Building Meeting / Dapeng Bay Tourism Circle / Southwest Coast Tourism Circle
Caoling Tunnel on the Northeast Coast
Promoting Barrier-free and Senior Travel
The Tourism Bureau completed 166 barrier-free tourism sites at national scenic areas to facilitate travel by the mobility-impaired. It selected visitor sites at scenic areas for accessible tourism pro-jects that convey the concept of universal design and create a friendly, barrier-free tourism envi-ronment. It also assisted the promotion of high-quality tours for seniors and launched FIT pack-age tickets and group tours at national scenic areas to create senior travel business opportunities.
Subsidies for Electric Scooter Rentals by Visitors
Encouraging Outlying Island Visitors to Rent Electric Scooters
The Tourism Bureau announced the Directions for Tourism Bureau, MOTC Subsidies to Tourists for the Leasing of Electric Scooters on Outlying Islands to encourage the adoption of domestical-ly-produced electric scooters for visitor rental in outlying islands. Subsidies were provided for 99,277 electric scooter rentals in 2020.
Strengthening On-site Supervision and Evaluations at National Scenic Areas
On-site supervision and evaluation were strengthened at national scenic area. This included evalu-ations by assessment teams and secret visitor inspections. After reviewing the results, three scenic areas were awarded special recognition for outstanding performance: Sun Moon Lake, Tri-Mountain and Dapeng Bay.
Fulong Kayak Race
Promoting Water Recreation Activities
The Tourism Bureau formulated the Working Guidelines for Maintenance of Facilities in National Scenic Areas and Safety Management of Water Recreation Activities, hosted and supported the holding of workshops on water recreation safety demonstrations and experience, and added a "Water Recreation Activities" section on its website. It produced videos to promote safety, strengthened water recreation safety, and continued rolling reviews of new waters recreation ac-tivities to enhance management mechanisms. In conjunction with the "Salute to the Seas" policy, the Bureau also carried out coastal cleaning and maintenance operations to create a high-quality environment for water recreation. A total of 9,680 tons of trash were cleaned up in 2020.
Luye Gaotai Air and Land Activity Safety Advocacy and Training
Maintaining Travel Safety
Major recreation sites under the jurisdiction of national scenic area administrations implemented COVID-19 prevention measures according to CECC guidelines to maintain visitor safety, includ-ing limits on visitor numbers, real-identity checks for admission, body temperature taking, and increased frequency cleaning. Plans for supervising "recreational facility safety management in tourist areas" were formulated in line with the implementation strategy for the White Paper on Public Safety Management and management operations were jointly handled with various minis-tries and commissions.
2020 Taiwan Indigenous Tourism Festival
Promoting Indigenous Tribal Tours
The Tourism Bureau established the Council for the Promotion of Tourism in Indigenous Areas. It invited the Council of Indigenous Peoples and five other agencies to jointly deliberate on ways to promote tourism in indigenous areas and arranged tour planning and indigenous guide training to support employment in indigenous communities. The 2020 Taiwan Indigenous Tourism Festi-val arranged to actively market indigenous tribal tours.
Camping Promotion and Guidance
Wai'ao Service Area OT Project in Toucheng Township, Yilan County
Encouraging Private Investment in Tourism
Operate-transfer (OT) projects were completed at the Wai'ao Service Area in Toucheng Township, Yilan County to diversify public recreation services and bring private sector vitality and creativity to travel service facilities.
