After Quake, Hualien Tourism Gets Boost from Cruise Ships|國際郵輪停花蓮港 盼促進震後觀光

A cruise ship carrying around 2,000 passengers arrived in Hualien's port recently. Local tour guides and residents have not seen so many tourists in a long time. Some of the visitors say they heard about the recent earthquake and wanted to support Taiwan by coming to visit. Warmly welcomed with the traditional dances of the aboriginal Ami tribe, the "Celebrity Millennium " cruise ship, at over 90,000 tons, pulls into the Hualien harbor. Hualien's taxis and 9-seater mini-buses, as well as larger tour buses pack the parking lot by the harbor. Everyone is very excited. It is not often so many foreign tourists turn up. The earthquake made a big difference. Only 30% (of tourists) were left. About 70% had all gone. Many of the passengers on the Celebrity cruise ship were from Europe, America and Hong Kong. They had heard about the big earthquake that shook Hualien on February 6. But they decided to keep to their original travel schedule anyway and come to Hualien as a show of support for the local tourism. On March 20 we will have the "Silver Discoverer" visit and on March 23 the "Caledonian Sky". These two ships are considered high-end cruise liners. They wanted to do their part to support Hualien tourism too. In order to promote the development of the Hualien tourism industry after the earthquake, local port authorities have actively been courting foreign cruise ships. This year, they have already arranged 13 port of calls in Hualien.