The government of southern Taiwan's Chiayi County launched a "Save Alishan Drive" Wednesday with the aim of increasing the number of tourists to Alishan - once Taiwan's most popular tourist destination but presently suffering a decline - to 1 million people per year.

Chiayi Magistrate Chang Hwa-kuan pointed out that since the Alishan area was severely damaged by massive flooding and landslides caused by Typhoon Morakot last August, the number of visitors has decreased dramatically.

So far this year, only 94,780 people have visited Alishan for the cherry blossom season March 15-April 15, just 33 percent of the number who came last year for the area's most popular annual event, Chang said.

The figure was even smaller than the number who came for the cherry blossom season in 2004, the year following the outbreaks of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), she added.

Citing Tourism Bureau statistics, Chang said Alishan attracted 175,571 sightseeing visits in the first three months of this year, representing a decline of 422,046 visits - or 71 percent - compared with the same period of 2009. This confirms the fact that tourism in the Alishan area is in recession, she pointed out.

Chang invited all tour and hotel operators in the mountain resort area to join the drive.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 04/22/2010 page4)