Kaohsiung vows to help boost local tourism

The Kaohsiung city government promised Wednesday to help attract more foreign tourists to the city, as tourism-related operators and companies in the city announced a plan to take part in a rally in Taipei Sept. 12 to highlight the problems facing them amid a steep decline in tourist arrivals to the city.

The protest plan was announced after the southern port city saw a drop of about 70 percent in the number of Chinese tourists over the past few months, which has dealt a blow to local hotels and tour bus operators.

According to hoteliers, three hotels in the southern city have suspended operations under the pretext of undergoing maintenance and repairs.

About 500 representatives from the tourism-related industries in the city have registered to attend the rally which is aimed at demanding that the central government find a way out for Taiwan's tourism industry, according to event organizers.

Following the announcement, Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau Director- General Tseng Tzu-wen (???) said that the city government respects their right to protest and added that the city will strive to help local tourism-related operators to attract more tourists by diversifying the sources of visitors and providing support for tourism operators.

Tseng further said that while Taiwan welcomes Chinese tourists, the central government has also worked to attract tour groups from Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand.

Meanwhile, Lin Fu-nan (???), an advisor to the Executive Yuan and the convener of the South Taiwan Travel Industry Alliance, said that he has reported to the central government about the problems facing tourism-related industries, and urged the government to come up with measures to address the issues.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel