1,600 mainland Amway reps arrive in Taiwan

Those were the first words almost every one of the 1,600 Amway China distributors and employees who stepped off the luxury Ocean Mystery liner that docked at Keelung said yesterday morning.

It's a little different as an arrival statement. Usually, people who reach a place they look forward to visiting say: "Here I come."

Probably the visitors, who left Shanghai on Saturday, reserved that statement until after they came to Taipei, the metropolis so well known to Chinese as a tourist mecca.

Taipei didn't let them down.

The first Chinese tourists to arrive in Taiwan aboard a cruiser visited the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall first. They all know Dr. Sun, the founder of the Chinese republic.

Then they were given a red carpet welcome at the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store near the Taipei 101.

Shin Kong Mitsukoshi sales ladies lined up to welcome the visitors from afar. Amway tourists were presented with gifts to remember their visit to one of the top department stores in Taiwan.

Among the best appreciated gifts were handmade soap bars. Colorful postcards were also well-liked.

And they shopped.

Tax refund service counters were set up to help shoppers. Renminbi could be exchanged right away. Department guides were ready to help shoppers around.

The same treatment was given at Taipei 101, the world's second tallest building. Shoppers were given "bear-cub" key rings, postcards and playing cards.

Shoppers soaked up Taiwan products and brand apparel for men as well as women. Handbags, wallets, and sunglasses were purchased with gusto.

Even typical Taiwan snacks sold briskly. Visitors want to take them back home as presents to relatives and friends.

Their visit to the city of Taipei was short. They had to return to Keelung to stay overnight aboard the Ocean Mystery, which would sail for Hualien on the east coast of Taiwan.

They would tour Hualien, which will include a brief trip to Taroko Gorge.

From Huaien the visitors would sail to Taichung. Then the time would come for them to return to Shanghai.

The arrivals aboard the Ocean Mystery were the first batch of altogether 12,000 Amway distributors and employees to visit Taiwan this year.

Their visit is made possible after an agreement was signed in Taipei in November last year to allow direct maritime transportation between Taiwan and China.

The Amway visitors are expected to bring at least NT$620 million in business opportunities to Taiwan businesses. Those who would most likely benefit the most are tourist bus operators, restaurants, and souvenirs dealers.

Other Amway visitors would come in eight batches aboard the Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruiser and Costa Cruiser.

Each batch will have 1,600 visitors.

Tourism officials in Taipei hope a significant increase in the number of Chinese tourists could help shore up Taiwan's economy, which has been hit by the worldwide economic crisis.

The Taiwan economy contracted 8.36 percent in the last quarter of last year. It is predicted to shrink by 2.09 percent this year.

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