Pingtung County Tourism Office Promotes Tourism: The 200th Legal Homestay Checks In

(Taiwan Business News) The number of legal homestays in Pingtung County has surpassed 200! More than 7 million people visit Pingtung every year, and not only has the beauty of Pingtung been introduced to the international stage, the number of operators applying for legal homestay businesses keeps hitting new highs. Last year, the total revenue of food and beverage and accommodation operators grew substantially by 20%.

On the 9th, the Tourism Development Section of the Pingtung County Government Tourism Office issued the registration certificate for the 200th legal homestay. After graduating from university, operator Wang Tingyi, a member of the seventh-grade generation, went to SHMS Swiss Hotel Management School to study hotel management. Optimistic about the potential of Pingtung's tourism market and encouraged by her family, she decided to put her studies to use and run a homestay together with her mother in Eluanli, Hengchun Township.

The Pingtung County Government Tourism Office stated that in the past there were only 94 legally registered homestay operators in Pingtung County. After the Tourism Communication Office was formally established in 100 (2011) of the Republic of China era, it strongly marketed tourism at the southernmost tip of Taiwan. In addition to combining local characteristics, it won the hearts of tourists through introductions to scenic spots and the planning of package tour itineraries, and took the initiative to expand the market for independent travelers from Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, China, Macao, China, and the mainland region, enabling the tourism industry in southern Taiwan to flourish. As the number of tourists visiting Pingtung kept hitting new highs, not only did large restaurants and hotels come to invest and build in Pingtung one after another, but many people were also attracted to return to their hometowns to run homestays, with the largest growth seen in Hengchun and Kenting, Xiaoliuqiu, and Donggang. Under the active guidance of the Tourism Communication Office, in just 3 years, legal homestays surged by more than 100.

In particular, according to statistics from the Ministry of Finance, last year the county's total business revenue reached 380 billion yuan, an increase of nearly 90 billion yuan compared with 97 (2008) of the Republic of China era, setting a new record high over the years. Among this, the revenue of food and beverage and accommodation reached 12.6 billion, an increase of 20%, the largest growth rate among all industries.