The stress is being placed on quality service and Taiwanese culture. The last decade has been full of ups and downs for Taiwan’s hospitality industry. Initially driven by a surge in Chinese tourism thanks to president Ma Ying-jeou’s strengthening of cross-Strait ties in 2008, the following years saw the construction of hundreds of new hotels…
Two writers’ perspective on a Sun Moon Lake holiday marked by a peculiar mingling of love and death. By Joshua Samuel Brown The sound of gongs and chanting were already pronounced as we turned the corner and approached our hotel at the alley’s end. Though we’d come to Sun Moon Lake for its legendary peace…
View the plants and creatures of the deep on an undersea adventure at one of Taiwan’s many splendid diving spots. An island nation surrounded by the bounty of the Pacific Ocean, Taiwan doesn’t merit a mention in the world’s top 100 diving lists. This omission comes despite Taiwan’s considerable natural advantages, diverse array of fish…
The chirping of birds amid trees and ponds may not be what first comes to mind when one thinks of Taipei, but thanks to extensive private and public efforts city residents can enjoy a number of oases of nature and serenity. A good way to discover some of the best parks in Taipei is to…
Kenting’s tourist arrivals have plunged amidst complaints about service quality, prices, and litter. Kenting is the closest Taiwan gets to a tropical Arcadia. The small seaside town lies in a secluded peninsula near the island’s southernmost point, about 200 kilometers south of the Tropic of Cancer. White-sand beaches abound. The sun blazes, coloring the temperate…
The former British Crown Colony offers much more to visitors than just shopping and dim sum. As I prepared for my first Hong Kong visit in October 2005, I asked my ESL students in Taipei for advice on how I should spend my time there. Most of them had been to Hong Kong at least…
Pick a day with nice weather and treat yourself to a walking tour of one of the city’s most diverse and appealing neighborhoods. Offering a diverse mix of sights, sounds, and flavors, the area near the Yuanshan (圓山) MRT Station, which is sometimes referred to as the “Confucius Temple Historic District,” has become one of…
The north-central county may not be on most tourist itineraries, but it contains a number of worthwhile attractions. For Taiwanese eager to explore their country, Miaoli is synonymous with Hakka culture and charming towns in the foothills. But for international tourists, the county is largely unknown territory. Even those foreign travelers who devote a day…
Could Taiwan double the number of international visitors from the current 10 million per year to 20 million by 2024? The Travel & Tourism Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei thinks so. In its position paper in the Chamber’s recently released 2018 Taiwan White Paper, the Committee made a number of recommendations…
Taiwan’s Penghu County is an archipelago of 90 islands and islets, yet many of the tourists who fly in from Taipei, 275 kilometers to the northeast, never set foot on a boat once during their vacation. From the main airport, four of the county’s six local-government divisions can be reached by rented car or motorcycle,…
