英闻天下——87 Circle Island or Shopping Tour in Taiwan

 　　An eight-day island-circling group tour in Taiwan is one of the most popular trips among mainland travelers. It covers a total distance of 1,600 kilometers and includes must-see sights, such as the Taipei Palace Museum, Ali Mountain and Sun Moon Lake.

 

　　Although tourists must travel this long distance in only eight days, their tour guides still arrange as much shopping time as possible. Yang Caiying is a tour guide from a local travel agency in Taiwan.

 

　　"Pineapple cakes and tea are very popular local products among travelers. Also, there are other special products in Taiwan such as coral and Taiwan jade²."

 

　　Mr. Li is a mainland traveler. He says he has spent a lot of money during his trip to Taiwan.

 

　　"I just bought red coral on which I spent about 98,000 new Taiwan dollars. Besides, I also got some local snacks and souvenirs when shopping here. Altogether, I have spent about 40,000 yuan during my trip in Taiwan."

 

　　According to a Taiwan tourism website, the minimum cost of an eight-day island-circling tour costs about 14,400 new Taiwan dollars, including local transportation, accommodations, meals, tickets to scenic³ spots and tour guides.

 

　　But the actual prices quoted by some local travel agencies were only about 4,200 Taiwan dollars. That is to say, these travel agencies will make a loss of more than 10,000 dollars on each customer. Therefore, they have to find other ways to cover the loss.

 

　　Yao Daguang, the head of a local tourism association in Taiwan, explains.

 

　　"These low-cost tour groups don't mean that tourists can live on 20 to 30 U.S. dollars a day in Taiwan, as that's impossible. Certainly, there have to be some other kinds of commission from the tourists' shopping to cover the cost."

 

　　Adding more shopping sites, extending more time for shopping, and misleading tourists to spend money—these are widely known as common tactics travel agencies use to increase income, Xu Yongyu, head of a travel agency in Taiwan, says.

 

　　"Many tour groups are scheduled to visit eight shopping sites during their eight days in Taiwan. Sometimes, extra shopping sites that provide agricultural products are also added to the itinerary⁴ of these tour groups. That is to say, there are more than eight shopping sites during eight days, so that should cover the cost."

 

　　According to media reports, local tourism authorities in Taiwan issued guidelines at the end of 2012 to improve the shopping environment for mainland tourists traveling to the island.

 

　　The local sightseeing bureau says it is coordinating⁵ with the mainland to discuss the guidelines and has called on Taiwanese authorities to guarantee the rights of mainland tourists. It said stores that mislead or cheat customers will have their names published, and tour guides who do the same will be punished as well.

 

　　Taiwan tourism authorities also stress they will continue to promote permanent travel activities, encourage mainland tourists to visit scenic areas and make efforts to promote in-depth tours.

 

　　For CRI, I am Zhang Wan¹.

1 wan   

(wide area network)广域网

参考例句：

• The shared connection can be an Ethernet,wireless LAN,or wireless WAN connection.提供共享的网络连接可以是以太网、无线局域网或无线广域网。

2 jade   

n.玉石；碧玉；翡翠

参考例句：

• The statue was carved out of jade.这座塑像是玉雕的。
• He presented us with a couple of jade lions.他送给我们一对玉狮子。

3 scenic   

adj.自然景色的，景色优美的

参考例句：

• The scenic beauty of the place entranced the visitors.这里的美丽风光把游客们迷住了。
• The scenic spot is on northwestern outskirts of Beijing.这个风景区位于北京的西北远郊。

4 itinerary   

n.行程表，旅行路线；旅行计划

参考例句：

• The two sides have agreed on the itinerary of the visit.双方商定了访问日程。
• The next place on our itinerary was Silistra.我们行程的下一站是锡利斯特拉。

5 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白