Hualien Port has won Cruise Insight Magazine’s best tour experience award, Taiwan International Ports Corp (TIPC) said on Tuesday, adding that the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung were also commended by the London-based magazine, for best destination for Chinese travelers and independent travelers respectively.
Hualien TIPC branch manager Wei So-lan said this is the first time the nation’s ports have won awards or received commendations from the magazine, adding that recognition from the publication is highly prized by international ports.
Wei said the magazine surveyed cruise ship passengers from ports around the world last year, with the results of the poll generating 44 award winners and 13 commendations.
Wei said that the magazine did not list why the award was given to the Port of Hualien, but that it was probably chosen because of its proximity to Taroko Gorge and for the quality of service that passengers have received at the port.
“Hualien Port is close to Taroko Gorge and other natural scenery, which have attracted numerous visitors from North America and Europe,” Wei said. “Tourists arriving via cruise ships often spend about eight hours onshore before they return to the ship. We have streamlined the procedures for customs, immigration, quarantine and security so they have sufficient time to visit the attractions.”
The company said in a statement that other ports that the magazine had given awards to are Fort Lauderdale and Seattle in the US, St Petersburg in Russia, Sydney in Australia, Nara in Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.
The recognition showed that Taiwanese ports have great potential for developing cruise ship tourism the, company said.Statistics from the TIPC show that approximately 720,000 cruise ship travelers visited the nation last year, an increase of 32 percent compared with 2013.
