Gov't to promote eco-tours on two islands

One of them, Green Island, is a small volcanic island located 33 kilometers off the coast of eastern Taiwan's Taitung County. The other, Hsiao Liuchiu, is a tiny coral islet off the coast of southern Pingtung County.

Both islands hold some of the most beautiful scenery in Taiwan, but development, including tourism development, in recent years has led to some environmental damage. For example, snorkelers have damaged some of the coral reef on Green Island by stepping on them. Overfishing and local restaurants' ability to sell coral reef fish, have also led to a reduction in that type of fish, which live in coral reefs and make the reefs more beautiful. Divers have reported there are far less fish than in the past.

Local environmental protection groups have been urging the government to do something about these problems.

By turning the islands into ecology-focused tourism destinations, the government hopes to reduce harm to the islands.

“The Tourism Bureau has mapped out strategies to promote ecological tours, such as promotion of the use of low-CO2 emission transportation tools and energy-saving equipment, as well as public education,” the bureau said in a press statement.

It is unclear, however, whether such measures will work. On Green Island, the local office of the Tourism Bureau has said it has tried to encourage tourists to ride bicycles instead of hiring cars and scooters, but few tourists do so and there is little promotion of eco-friendly ways of sightseeing on the island or on the boats taking tourists to the island.

Sometimes, thousands of tourists rent scooters and zip through Green Island's roads in packs, changing the quiet, rustic atmosphere of the island.

Hsiao Liuchiu is less developed than Green Island.

The Tourism Bureau's plans for the two islands are part of a larger plan to boost tourism in Taiwan in the next few years.

The Executive Yuan launched a NT$30 billion budget program in April in an effort to turn Taiwan into a tourism hub in East Asia that could generate NT$550 billion (US$16.8 billion) in tourism revenue in four years and help create 400,000 jobs in the tourism industry by 2012.

The government hopes to achieve at least 4.1 million foreign tourist arrivals in 2009, 4.5 million in 2010, 5 million in 2011 and 5.5 million in 2012.

As part of its efforts, the Tourism Bureau plans to divide the country into four major regions featuring different themes to cater to the different tastes of tourists from around the world.

To promote northern Taiwan, the bureau will feature lifestyle aspects such as the arts, pop music and fashion. Tea and flower gardens will be the main focus of the bureau when it introduces central Taiwan to potential tourists, while historic monuments will be the major attraction in its efforts to promote southern Taiwan.

The slow pace of life in eastern Taiwan will be capitalized on with an emphasis on bicycle riding tours and the cultures of indigenous tribes in the area, while the offshore counties of Penghu and Kinmen will be promoted as international resort islands and as the location of Cold War military relics, respectively.

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