Friday, August 28, 2009

Despite typhoon, tourism sector showing resilence (Taiwan Today)

Within hours of the Jinshuai Hotel toppling into the raging waters of the Zhiben River in southeast Taiwan on August 9, footage of the six-story building’s spectacular demise had been seen by millions of people in Asia, North America and Europe.

The clip is unlikely to bring tourists flocking to Taiwan, and in the wake of Typhoon Morakot - the calamity that led to more than 200 confirmed deaths as well as the hotel’s collapse - the island's travel industry faces serious problems.

Reuters reported August 14 that the tourism sector would see total losses of NT$4.5 billion because several of Taiwan’s finest tourism assets have been put out of action or rendered inaccessible.

The historic narrow-gauge railroad that links the lowland city of Chiayi with the mountain resort of Alishan will not be fully operational for two years, Taiwan's Chinese-language media has reported. However, the main road to the resort should reopen by September 20...

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