Taiwan to dish out subsidies to boost tourism in four municipalities after train derailment

火車出軌後台將提供補貼以促進四個城市的旅遊業

The subsidy program is put in place following a rush of train ticket refunds after the train derailment on October 21 that killed 18


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau will announce on October 29 the details of a subsidy program to encourage travel to Hualien, Taitung, Pingtung counties, and Kaohsiung City in hopes to boost tourism in the four municipalities following a rush of train ticket refunds after the Yilan train derailment on October 21 that killed 18, according to a Central News Agency (CNA) report on Saturday.

The tourism authority has reportedly promised a budget of NT$95 million (about US$ 3.17 million) to fund the program and will start dishing out subsidies to backpackers who stay in the four municipalities on any day from Sunday to Friday during November and December, the report said. Group tourists over sixty years old are also included in the program, according to the report.

However, as some travel operators in Yilan County, where the trail derailment occurred, have claimed that the county’s tourism has also taken a hit from the accident, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) told CNA that he has directed the bureau to evaluate whether Yilan County should also be included in the subsidy scheme. This and other details of the program will be made public on October 29, the report said.



(photo from the official website of East Coast Scene Area Administration)