Nine-day Spring Festival holiday   HowToTrip hotline stays open

Reported by reporter You T-Ru / Taipei

During the Spring Festival holiday, it is estimated that the top ten most congested popular tourist spots this year (2013) will be the Jinguashi and Jiufen areas, Nanzhuang area, Sun Moon Lake and Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village area, Xitou and Monster Village area, Wuling Farm, Alishan, Guanziling, Fo Guang Shan Buddha Memorial Center, Kenting, and Chulu Ranch. The public is advised to pay attention to relevant traffic management measures when planning their trips and to make use of public transportation as much as possible.


▲ During the Spring Festival, congestion is common at tourist attractions. The public is encouraged to use public transport. (Photo / Provided by Eastern TV News)

The Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and various national scenic area administrations have coordinated with external roads prone to congestion around tourist sites, with assistance from police and relevant authorities to enhance traffic management, increase parking spaces, and promote shuttle buses, Taiwan Tourist Shuttle (scenic area transit buses), and Taiwan Sightseeing Buses as public transport options to alleviate traffic. The traffic management period for tourist areas during the Spring Festival runs from February 10 (Lunar New Year’s Day) to February 17 (the eighth day of the Lunar New Year), lasting eight days.

To encourage the public to use public transportation during the Spring Festival, the Tourism Bureau and related agencies have planned 13 shuttle bus lines in key tourist areas such as Northeast Coast (Jinguashi and Jiufen), Sun Moon Lake, Alishan, Siyala, Maolin, Dapeng Bay, Taroko, and Wuling Farm for the public to utilize.

The Tourism Bureau has also guided travel agencies to launch 49 “Taiwan Sightseeing Bus” packaged tour routes, and has supported county and city governments and national scenic area administrations in operating 22 “Taiwan Tourist Shuttle” (scenic area transit buses). These services will continue to operate normally during the Spring Festival. Those who prefer not to drive or worry about parking can take advantage of these options. Information on the above services can be found on the Taiwan Tourism Information Network at taiwan.net.tw under the “Tourism Bureau Spring Transport and Tourism Information” webpage.

In addition, the “2013 Ministry of Transportation Spring Transport Tourism Road Network Map” leaflet can be picked up for free at police radio stations, tourist service centers, major train and highway stations, post offices, and highway service areas. An electronic map file is also available for download on the aforementioned webpage.

This year’s nine-day Spring Festival holiday not only sees many people returning home to reunite with family but also offers an opportunity for outdoor leisure trips. According to a survey by the Tourism Bureau on accommodation availability at major tourist spots across Taiwan, the average booking rate from Lunar New Year’s Day to the sixth day is over 60%, with the third day reaching a high of 80%. Among national scenic areas, Yunlin–Chiayi–Tainan, Siyala, Dapeng Bay, and East Rift Valley all have average booking rates of over 80% during the Spring Festival.

The Tourism Bureau specifically urges the public to gather relevant traffic and tourism information before traveling, plan their itineraries and bookings in advance, and make greater use of public transportation. Additionally, the Tourism Bureau supports 47 tourist service centers nationwide, 13 visitor centers in national scenic areas, and a 24-hour toll-free tourism hotline (Chinese, English, Japanese, and Korean) at 0800-011765, all of which remain open and operational throughout the Spring Festival. The public is welcome to make use of these services.