Hospitality helps promote tourism: president

He cited the example of a passerby who, in response to a request for directions, accompanied a Chinese writer to a bus station from which the writer was able to travel to Yangmingshan to view the flowers there.

Another example featured a shoe-store clerk in Kenting, Pingtung County, who applied a band-aid to the blisters on the foot of a Chinese graduate student, the president said.

The student had gone to the store to buy a new pair of shoes because the ones he had been wearing had hurt his feet, Ma said, adding that the Chinese student was deeply touched by the clerk's gesture.

"Taiwanese hospitality and considerateness are important resources that will help promote the island's tourism." Ma said at a ceremony to mark March 1 Tourism Day.

Reiterating the government's goal of NT$500 billion (US$15.58 billion) in tourism revenues this year, the president said his administration wants to see not only an increase in the number of visitors but also better quality tours.

First time tourists who have a pleasant experience will want to return a second time for more in-depth sightseeing, and a third time for long-term vacation, the president said.

Citing government statistics, Ma said 4.4 million tourists visited Taiwan last year, representing an annual growth of 14.3 percent, despite the global financial crisis, the outbreak of influenza H1N1 and the destruction caused by Typhoon Morakot.

These tourists brought some NT$400 billion worth of business to Taiwan and contributed to growth in the transport, eatery and travel sectors, which pushed tourism into the ranks of the top six industries in the country, the president said.

In order to increase tourism output value by another NT$100 billion this year, Ma said, his administration will funnel NT$30 billion into the industry, in addition to the NT$25 billion to be invested by the private sector to build and refurbish hotels.

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