《TAIPEI TIMES》 Taitung among top 10 places to visit

By Hsiao Yu-hsin, Chang Chun-wei and Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporters, with staff writer

Taitung was listed as one of the top 10 up and coming places to visit next year by travel Web site Booking.com.

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“With [Taitung City’s] modest charm, cultural diversity and mix of mountains, hot springs, temples and ocean activities, it’s on the rise for travellers in 2018,” Booking.com said in a statement on its Web site on Nov. 10. Others on the list of the top 10 emerging cities are: Sapporo, Japan; Nashville, Tennessee; Bucharest, Romania; Zakopane, Poland; Brisbane, Australia; Bogota, Colombia; Portland, Oregon; Lima, Peru; and Hannover, Germany.

Booking.com said the list was selected based on the destinations that had the highest year-on-year increase in bookings from September last year to September this year.

Taitung County’s promotion of an international surfing competition, a hot air balloon festival and other events has produced concrete results, Taitung County Commissioner Justin Huang （黃健庭） said on Thursday, adding that the county was also selected by travel guidebook publisher Lonely Planet as one of the top 10 places to visit in Asia last year.

Taitung has good potential, but was not properly developed or promoted before, he added.

Encouraged by the recognitions from global travel platforms, the county will continue its efforts to promote local tourism, he said.

In its introduction of Taitung, Booking.com said that Taitung was endorsed by the Web site’s travelers for “nature, relaxation, seaside and clean air.”

The travel Web site named several locations in Taitung for outdoors activities, hot springs and food, including Green Island （綠島）, Fugang Fishing Port （富岡漁港）, the Jhihben area （知本）, and the Taitung Night Market （台東觀光夜市）.

Booking.com also said that it recommended staying at one of Taitung’s many homestays.

According to research by Booking.com, four in every 10 global travelers plan on taking a food and drink trip next year.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES