Business

Green dreams shape Yilan’s tourism industry

Chang Ching-lai, the godfather of leisure agriculture tourism in Yilan County, recommends the local and central governments explore new ways to attract overseas visitors to the region. (Photo courtesy of C.Y. Ho).

• Publication Date：10/31/2009
• Source： Taiwan Today
• By  Jean Brisebois

If the Yilan County Government ever launches a tourism promotion campaign targeting Westerners, then it would be hard pressed to find a better theme song than Belinda Carlisle’s late 1980s hit “Heaven is a Place on Earth.”

After all, what other pop anthem could do justice to this stunning region situated on Taiwan’s northeastern coastline? Blessed with mountains, forests, hot springs, wetlands, sweeping green vistas and stunning beaches, Yilan truly is heaven on earth.

The county’s value as a key tourism drawing card in Taiwan is no secret to anyone who has set foot in Yilan. Consistently voted one of the best places to visit and live on the island, the region literally makes other local governments green with envy, and for more reasons than just its spectacular scenery and favorable weather.

“We like to think that our abundant natural resources have given us a tourism reputation without peer in Taiwan,” said Yilan County Magistrate Lu Guohwa in an exclusive interview with “Taiwan Today” Oct. 17. “The county’s diverse environment enables residents to live well and enjoy the benefits of a thriving leisure agriculture sector that has endless development potential.”

In Taiwan, leisure agriculture is on its way to becoming big business. The Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture has prioritized the sector’s promotion as a nationally viable form of sustainable tourism. According to COA data, Taiwan has 67 designated leisure agriculture areas, with 13 located in Yilan—the highest density anywhere on the island.

“Developing leisure agriculture in Yilan continues to be a local government priority,” Lu said. “In part, this is being accomplished through festivals that promote the region’s specialty products and cultural heritage.”

Yilan’s ever-expanding festival calendar draws visitors from around the world and includes popular events such as the Taiwan Lantern Festival, Yilan Green Expo and Sanxing Green Onion and Garlic Festival. The 2008 lantern festival was featured by the Discovery Channel in its “Fantastic Festivals of the World” series.

While festivals play an important role in the development of Yilan’s leisure agriculture sector, this growth would not be possible without the region’s high-quality boutique agricultural products.

COA estimates peg the annual national output value of produce sourced from leisure agriculture businesses, including liquor, top-quality rice, bamboo products and high-end fish and animal products, at NT$12.3 billion (US$377 million) by 2012. In addition, 4,500 job opportunities will be created by the industry over the next three years.

“In Yilan, we expect to enjoy the lion’s share of these benefits,” Lu said. “Increasing demand from tourists for specialty agricultural products has rapidly driven up the value of this sector.”

Statistics produced by Yilan County’s Department of Business and Tourism confirm Lu’s assessment. In 2008, the region’s leisure agriculture businesses hosted 3.7 million visitors and generated nearly NT$6.02 billion in revenue, a hefty increase on the NT$1.1 billion earned in 2004.

While this improvement can be partially attributed to a series of local government campaigns aimed at boosting Yilan’s visitor numbers, a more likely culprit is the Hsuehshan Tunnel—a 12.9-kilometer expressway linking Yilan with Taipei County. Completed in 2006, the world’s fifth-longest tunnel has slashed travel times between Yilan and Taipei from four hours to around an hour and a half.

A recent study prepared by National Ilan University on the tunnel’s economic impact said the opening of Hsuehshan played a major role in boosting Yilan’s leisure agriculture sector. “More visitors seeking to enjoy lifestyles of health and sustainability are now accessing the county. These individuals have increased the frequency and duration of their trips, creating a positive multiplier effect in the region,” the report said.

For Chang Ching-lai, 55, co-founder of the Taiwan Leisure Farming Development Association and president of Yilan’s Shangri-La Leisure Farming and Boutique Hotel, the opening of the tunnel helped make his dream of establishing a profitable leisure agriculture business a reality.

“As a boy on my parents’ farm in Yilan, I experienced the simple pleasures of picking and eating fruit, watching fireflies and listening to the sound of the wind. I never imagined that these things would become so sought after in the future that people would pay for them.”

A lifelong resident of Yilan, Chang could not help but notice the socio-economic consequences of urban drift on his county and began pondering ways to try and reverse the region’s fortunes. In 1976, he first approached the county government with a proposal aimed at revitalizing traditional agricultural life.

Chang said his plan promoted core rural concepts such as frugality, self-reliance and environmental conservation. Other central planks included incorporating tourism into the community’s farming models and encouraging urban emigres to return home and start leisure agriculture businesses.

“No one took me seriously at the time,” Chang said. “My proposal was basically ignored until about 20 years ago when I decided to put my money where my mouth was.”

In 1988, Chang took the visionary step of opening a leisure farm in the foothills of Yilan’s Dayuan Mountain. Cozy accommodation, fruit picking, verdant green surrounds and starry nights proved an irresistible combination, with the initial trickle of visitors soon turning into a steady stream. As the first business of its kind in the county, many locals were initially skeptical but soon elected to follow suit as word of the successful green venture spread.

“Business was slow in the beginning but after a year or so, I knew I had made the right decision,” he said. “In fact, the farm ended up doing so well that I was able to entertain thoughts of expansion. For someone who had grown up in rural poverty, this went beyond my wildest expectations.”

After much to-ing and fro-ing, Chang decided not to sacrifice the unique atmosphere of his farm through pushing out its boundaries and building more accommodation and guest services facilities. Instead, he decided to sink NT$55 million into a new leisure concept on the Dongshan River plain.

Located 10 minutes on foot from Dongshan River Water Park, the 72-room Mediterranean style Shangri-La Boutique Hotel opened in 2001 and proved equally as popular as Chang’s farm. Guests come from as far away as Russia, South Africa, Turkey and the United States to enjoy the establishment’s locally-flavored brand of hospitality.

For Chang, the only criteria for selecting the hotel’s site was its proximity to the water park. “Dongshan is one of the best large-scale tourism developments in Yilan. Any business located nearby cannot help but to do well.”

Launched in 1994 by Yu Shyi-kun, then Yilan County magistrate and later ROC premier under the Chen Shui-bian administration, the 24-kilometer manmade canal is today one of the region’s key tourism assets. Popular with visitors all-year round, Dongshan hosts a variety of major events, including Yilan’s International Rain Festival and Dragon Boat Festival.

From Nov. 3, it will also be the site of the Asian Rowing Championships. Nearly 500 rowers from 18 countries and regions, including Hong Kong, Japan, mainland China, Qatar, South Korea and Uzbekistan are expected to compete in the five-day event, which will be opened by President Ma Ying-jeou and Premier Wu Den-yih.

Chang welcomes the staging of such international events in Yilan and believes they play an important role in further developing the region’s leisure agriculture sector. “As more people come to Yilan, the demand for accommodation also grows,” he said. “For many locals, developing hotels is out the question. The best way forward is to work with what they know best, which is promoting a traditional agricultural lifestyle through operating leisure farms.”

To further boost Yilan’s leisure agriculture sector, Chang works closely with other accommodation operators in concert with Yilan County Government’s Industrial Development and Investment Promotion Committee. “The committee plays an important role in promoting the county’s tourism industry. These efforts span a variety of areas and have a domestic and international focus.”

One initiative that has proven successful is the targeting of overseas tourists with flight and accommodation deals. Offered in conjunction with carriers such as Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., China Airlines Ltd., Eva Airways Corp. and Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Ltd., the promotion has brought more overseas visitors to the county.

Chang said that since the initiative began in January, the percentage of foreigners visiting his farm and hotel has risen to 50 and 30 percent respectively—almost double last year’s figures. “Other farm and hotel owners have seen similar improvements.”

As a major player in Yilan’s tourism game, Chang knows what he is talking about when he describes the local industry to be in “good shape” and standing on the cusp of delivering real prosperity to the region.

“We have everything that we need to step up and play in the majors,” he said. “Taking Yilan to the world must now be a top priority. The local tourism industry has only one choice but to head in this direction.”