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🇹🇼 Taiwan /Culture & Society

Hualien County Ends Tourism 'Grey Area' with New Regulations for Paragliding and ATVs

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Hualien County in Taiwan is finalizing regulations to manage paragliding and ATV activities, which were previously unregulated and caused frequent disputes and accidents.
  • The county government has enacted the "Hualien County Non-Powered Flight Sports Management Self-Government Ordinance" and is preparing a draft ordinance for ATV activities.
  • These new regulations aim to end the "grey area" of tourism operations, improve safety, address environmental concerns, and bring order to the local tourism sector.

Hualien County is moving to regulate previously uncontrolled recreational activities like paragliding and ATVs, aiming to end years of disputes and accidents that plagued the local tourism industry.

The county government has already implemented the "Hualien County Non-Powered Flight Sports Management Self-Government Ordinance" since September last year. However, only one paragliding operator has met the qualifications to operate legally so far. For beach ATVs, a draft ordinance has been completed and is currently undergoing revisions based on public feedback before being submitted to the county council for review by the end of this year.

Hualien County's paragliding is one of the sports that best showcases its mountain and sea landscape, but the paragliding industry is not just about management. After the regulations are passed, will there be assistance for tourism marketing?

— County Councilor Dibos YilaiSuggesting the need for integrated marketing and development strategies beyond just regulation for the paragliding sector.

These activities, which boomed in popularity due to Hualien's stunning coastal scenery, previously operated in a legal vacuum. While the central government offered non-binding guidelines, the lack of local ordinances led to issues with safety, noise pollution, environmental damage, and even fatal accidents, such as paraglider falls. Investigations by the Control Yuan prompted the county to establish a more robust management system.

Local officials and council members have advocated for updated regulations to provide clear legal frameworks for extreme sports like paragliding, river tracing, and diving. The goal is not only to ensure safety and environmental protection but also to develop high-end sports tourism products. This includes integrating transportation, accommodation, and tour packages to encourage longer stays for both domestic and international visitors, thereby transforming the local tourism landscape.

The draft ordinance received feedback, with local concerns including non-agricultural use of farmland and the right-of-way for ATVs operating on non-public roads.

— Yu Ming-hsun, Director of the Tourism DepartmentExplaining the public feedback received on the ATV management ordinance draft.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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