Released on July 22, 2013 at 13:50:56

News content (published by Yonghua Municipal Administration Center)

Written by Ting-Jun Ye / Department of Information and International Relations

Photographed by Fei-Ming Syue / Department of Information and International Relations

Led by Mayor Ching-Te Lai, the Tainan City Government-Council Delegation took the Tainan-Hong Kong maiden flight to visit the port city. During its four-day visit from July 18 to July 21, the Delegation conducted exchanges in multiple sectors, such as culture, tourism and agricultural specialties. Mayor Lai, Speaker Mei-Hui Lai and several Council members reported today (July 22) on the achievements of the journey. Mayor Lai proclaimed the maiden flight as the first step on the road to success. He said that all Bureaus and Departments in the City Government have started their follow-up tasks, and are committed to making the most of the Tainan-Hong Kong air route in order to increase the international exposure of the City.

A short film about the trip’s achievements was played at the press conference, revealing its intensive schedule and abundant rewards. Mayor Lai and his team visited the supermarket in SOGO Department Store and Panda Place in Tsuen Wan, New Territories, to promote mango and other agricultural specialties. They arrived at Eslite Bookstore to dialogue with Craig Au Yeung, renowned Hong Kong travel writer, on the subject of City Aesthetics, and hosted the ‘Promotion of Tainan Tourism, Local Specialties, and Medical Treatments,’ introducing sightseeing and medical cosmetic tours to travel agents in Hong Kong. Director-General of the Department of Information and International Relations Ching-Hui Chao added that the event received a warm welcome from Hong Kong’s travel agents. Originally 150 seats were prepared; eventually over two hundred agents pressed themselves into the venue. Some agents at first had doubts about Tainan’s tourism. However, after listening to the briefing, they all expressed an interest to ‘pay a visit in September’, a result well beyond expectation.

Highlighting the size of the team, Mayor Lai pointed out that it was the largest delegation since the city-county consolidation. Apart from City Government staff, 16 Council members led by Speaker Mei-Hui Lai and Deputy Speaker Hsin-Liang Kuo, as well as Tainan City Legislators Ting-Fei Chen and Yi-Ching Yeh joined the group. The travel agent association and catering industry workers were also involved. The City Government expresses its gratitude to them. The Mayor indicated the historical significance of the launching of the Tainan-Hong Kong air route. Tainan used to be the only gate to the outside world in 17th century Taiwan. The launching of its direct flight to Hong Kong has now brought a second international airport to Southern Taiwan, connecting the City to the rest of the world.

Commending the success of all marketing events in this journey, Mayor Lai stressed that Tainan’s features are complementary to Hong Kong’s and constitute a major selling point. Hong Kong is only half the size of Tainan, yet has four times the population. It is a fast-paced international metropolis. Tainan, with its leisure, food, culture and environment, presents a contrast and can thus create a win-win solution.

Mayor Lai mentioned that Tainan’s resources in medical tourism also drew interest during this visit. Taiwan maintains the second highest medical service standard in the world; whereas Tainan has the highest population density of doctors in Taiwan. In addition to its medical technology matching the North’s, the City is blessed with beautiful scenery, good weather and friendly citizens, which attract Hong Kong’s agents in introducing related touristic commodities to their local market. In terms of agricultural specialties, Tainan’s products are popular among Hong Kong citizens, not only because of their high quality but also because their prices are only one-third of local commodities. They are thus quite competitive in the Hong Kong market.

Mayor Lai also stated that in addition to the delegates’ vigorous promotion, enthusiastic support was given by Tainan’s entrepreneurs who currently live in Hong Kong. In a touching effort, Hong Kong & Macau Taiwanese Charity Fund Limited’s (HMTCF) ex-Chairman Tian-Mao Lin and Chairman Jason Chien, Executive Director of Heng Ya Electric Limited Shang-Huei Shen, and dozens of Tainan’s fellow countrymen coordinated to purchase full-page advertisements in all major local newspapers with their personal funds, to send good wishes for the visiting flight as well as to promote Tainan’s agricultural products.

The Mayor reported that in the wake of the successful maiden trip, the City Government has already proceeded with several follow-up actions, including: continuous liaison with shopping malls and sales points to expand sales channels for Tainan’s agricultural specialties and products; forming a one-stop window to facilitate Taiwanese business investments; opening a customer service hotline to provide assistance to any Hong Kong visitors to Tainan, to help with their difficulties.

Members of the Tainan City Council in the visiting team all attended the press conference. They included: Speaker Mei-Hui Lai, Deputy Speaker Hsin-Liang Kuo, and Councilors Bi-A Tang, Li-Li Chiu, Guo-Wun Guo, and Yu-Jhih Cai. Although not in the Delegation, Councilor Cing-Hua Guo also attended today’s conference to show his support. Speaker Lai and those Council members in attendance expressed how impressed they were and offered their approval of the efforts and hard work the City Government has put into realizing the direct flight and arranging the visit. Council members advised the City Government to increase marketing Tainan City and enhance its publicity. They also pointed out room for improvement regarding airport space usage and peripheral shuttle services. They suggested considering the allocation of a duty-free zone and souvenir stations in the airport, and planning for a shuttle bus to the city center. They also envisioned the realization of direct flights between Xiamen and Tainan in the future to benefit Taiwanese businesses. Deputy Speaker Kuo mentioned that this air route could create 400 million dollars’ worth of business opportunities, showing the foresight of Mayor Lai’s ‘See the Future’ campaign.

China Airlines currently provides three round-trip flights on the Tainan-Hong Kong route every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. It prepares special in-flight meals made with Tainan agricultural specialties, and has also planned various flight-with-hotel packages. According to China Airlines, the booking rate of the Tainan-Hong Kong route has reached over 70% since its launching on July 18. In view of such enthusiastic responses, it is possible that the company might extend its service to daily scheduled flights and provide more convenience to Tainan’s citizens.