New Taipei mayor praises Singapore as a tourist destination

Want China Times, CNA 2015-03-07

Eric Chu promotes tourism in New Taipei City during his visit to
Singapore, Mar. 3. (Photo/CNA)

Singapore is a great country despite its size, and Taiwan has much to learn from the city state in terms of tourism, said New Taipei mayor Eric Chu upon his arrival there Friday to promote tourism in his city.

Singapore is one of the best tourist attractions in the world, including its success in drawing high-end shoppers and international business travelers, said Chu, who also chairs the ruling Kuomintang.

Two-way travel has increased in recent years, with about 400,000 Singaporeans traveling to Taiwan last year, up from 194,000 in 2009.

The number of Taiwanese tourists to the city-state has risen to nearly 300,000 annually over the past two years from 137,000 in 2009, Chu added.

To draw travelers to New Taipei, a competition kicked off in Singapore on Friday to select a tourism promoter.

The winner will be rewarded a cash prize of 5,000 Singaporean dollars (US$3,670) and be treated to a two-week stay in New Taipei, during which the winner is required to post messages and photos on his or her trip on social media sites.

The mayor is also scheduled to attend the NATAS Travel fair, which began Friday and will run through Sunday.

Chu was accompanied by Chang Kuo-wei, chairman of Taiwanese airline EVA Air, which will increase flights to the city state to accommodate the growing two-way travel.

The airline said it will increase the number of flights to Singapore to 10 per week from the current seven, starting June 21, and to 11 starting July 1.

The carrier will transport passengers in its popular Hello Kitty planes on three of the flights, according to the airline.