Source: Siao-Ting Jhou, reports from Tainan, China Times, June 17, 2014 04:09
 

The factory tour is popular among tourists. (Photo by Siao-Ting Jhou)

Visiting tourism factories has become a new trend in national tourism. The number of tourism factories in Tainan leaped from 5 to 19 within the past two years, ranking first in the country. The Economic Development Bureau (EDB) of Tainan City Government integrated businesses from various industries to promote factory tours, benefiting business owners with unlimited opportunities. EDB’s Chief Secretary Jyun-Bo Wang noted that people are highly attracted to the factory tour experience.
 

The 19 tourism factories in Tainan have successively opened and operated. The EDB brought the factories together with local communities and the tourism industry to form a strategic alliance, launching irregular best-valued experience tours every year. Chief Secretary Wang said, on account of the enthusiastic responses from the public, the EDB has recently coordinated with bus operators to facilitate the reaching of 13 tourism factories by the public transport system. For those people who cannot join the factory tours, they can still take public buses to the factories.
 

The hottest selling point of the tourism factory is hands-on activities. Coincidently, Taiwan Herbal Medicine Experience Hall in Jiali District and the Wonderful Tenergy Place in Guantian District both arrange activities for visitors to experience filling up prescriptions; Cadozea Food House in Houbi District provides hands-on DIY events. Chief of EDB’s Industry Development Section Hwei-Chieh Yen had previously disguised himself as a tourist to visit several tourism factories and found that these hands-on courses could indeed capture the hearts of visitors, even he could not resist all the fun.
 

According to the EDB, Tainan’s tourism factories have already formed into business clusters in the City, with 19 factories spreading over 13 administrative districts. More factories will pass the evaluation of the Ministry of Economic Affairs in the future. Although factory tours currently offer breath of fresh air for visitors, cities and counties all around Taiwan have sensed the business opportunities brought by these factories. Only by continually refreshing the tours can the businesses attract visitors returning over and over again to consume and bring in profits.