The Alishan Forest Recreation Area in Chiayi County welcomed at least 3,600 visitors on the second day of the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday on Sunday, the most of any day since Taiwan was hit by a major COVID-19 outbreak in mid-May.

As of 4:30 p.m. there were over 3,600 visits to the popular tourist attraction, according to the Chiayi Forest District Office’s Alishan workstation, topping the more than 2,000 visits made to Alishan on the first day of the four-day holiday Saturday.

Travel to the area, known for its ancient cedar and cypress forests, has been limited since a surge in COVID-19 cases in Taiwan in mid-May, with no more than 400 visitors a day in recent months, said Lai Lung-hui (???), head of the workstation.

Tourists begun to flow in recently when COVID-19 restrictions were eased as the number of domestic cases reported per day fell to the single digits toward the end of August, according to Lai.

The increase in visitors made it hard to find accommodation there, said Liao Chi-tai (???), head of the Alishan Forest Recreation Area hotel association, noting that the reservation rate for rooms reached 90 percent on Sunday.

Since the domestic outbreak in mid-May, only about 10-20 percent of rooms in the Alishan area had been booked on weekdays and 30-40 percent had been booked on weekends or holidays, Liao said.

This year the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival falls on Sept. 21 and is being celebrated over a four-day holiday that began Saturday.

Many scenic areas around Taiwan also saw surges in visitors Sunday, including Mount Hehuan in central Taiwan, Sun Moon Lake, and the Xitou Nature Education Area in Nantou County.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel