Maintain tourism quality: Group visitors to Alishan must make reservations starting March 1

Written/Li Xinyi, MOOK Travel Life Network, compiled and reported

 

Since Taiwan opened its doors to mainland Chinese tourists in 2008, Alishan National Forest Recreation Area has become a must-visit destination on their itineraries. The total number of visitors has grown year by year, with last year marking a record-breaking annual attendance of over 2 million. To mitigate the impact of the daily influx of people and vehicles on the park and its surroundings—including traffic, the environment, and tourism quality—the Alishan Forest Recreation Area will implement a new measure starting March 1, 2013 (102 in the Taiwanese calendar), limiting daily group visitor entries to 6,000. Online reservation applications are now open, with a trial period running from January 21 to February 28.

In recent years, visitors to Alishan National Forest Recreation Area have mostly opted for single-day trips, entering in the morning and leaving in the afternoon. This has led to insufficient capacity of park facilities and environmental damage, prompting the need for a visitor diversion mechanism. The Chiayi Forest District Office stated that starting March 1, 2013, the Alishan National Forest Recreation Area will allow 6,000 group visitors per day. Groups traveling by Type A or Type B buses must have their guides or tour leaders apply for entry through the “Alishan National Forest Recreation Area Group Visitor Diversion Reservation System.” Applications are required per vehicle, with each bus needing to obtain an application number. On the day of entry, the reservation application form and personal identification documents must be presented at the park’s ticket booth for verification and ticket purchase.

 

The system controls group visitor numbers in two time slots: the morning slot (00:00 to 11:59) allows 3,500 group visitors, while the afternoon slot (12:00 to 23:59) allows 2,500. Applications can be submitted up to three months before the intended entry date, and spots are not available once they are full. If there are remaining spots, applications will remain open until one day before the entry date. For example, those planning to enter on May 1 can apply from February 1 to April 30. Each applicant may submit only one reservation form per entry date, which is valid only for that specific date and time slot and cannot be used after the deadline. Rescheduling on-site for a different date or time slot is not allowed. If an applicant needs to cancel, they must do so via the system no later than one day before the entry date. Applicants who fail to enter the park three times (excluding cancellations made according to regulations) will be suspended from using the system for three months, after which they may apply again. The Group Visitor Diversion Reservation System can be accessed at Alishan.forest.gov.tw. For more details, contact the 24-hour hotline at 05-267-9971 at the Alishan Forest Recreation Area main gate toll station.

 

 

● Extended Reading: Alishan Forest Railway resumes service between Chiayi and Zhushiqi stations on December 23

http://goo.gl/eYwGN