Taiwan: The Perception of Travel and Tourism
- Herbert Haylock
- Aug 3, 2023
- 10 min read
Updated: Aug 7, 2023
Written by Herbert Haylock, Taiwan Embassy end-of-year Guest Speaker Address, delivered in 2013 by Herbert Haylock, BTIA President, Photographs by Herbert Haylock
A warm and pleasant good morning to all of you!
I know protocol has been established but I would like to take a few seconds to acknowledge and note the presence of the Ambassador of China - Taiwan to Belize, Ambassador David Wu.
Several weeks ago an Embassy Representative contacted me and inquired if I would be open to being a Guest Speaker for today. The focus for today would be 'Tourism!' I was invited to speak to you today about Belize's Tourism Product. And specifically to share with you the private sector's views of the same in relation to my having joined a team of six earlier in April of this year who visited Taiwan, as part of what was the first business-oriented delegation to visit the country in the many exchanges that have since been afforded to Belizeans over the many years that our countries have maintained diplomatic ties and been friends.
My visit to Taiwan as part of the official delegation was done so in my capacity as the President of the Belize Tourism Industry Association. I joined colleagues from the Belize Chamber of Commerce, the Corozal Free Zone, and the San Pedro Town Council.
I am sure many of you in the room today won't forget the countless hours spent in the air, feeling confined and perhaps getting cabin fever on that long 14-hour journey across the Pacific traveling from Belize to Taiwan. It's not so bad doing the Belize - Miami and Miami - Los Angeles legs right? What's a couple of hours right?
Piece of cake! But 14!
How did you manage that time....most of you might have taken the advice...SLEEP! I tried...I really did...I was able to muster in about 6 hours...but I paid the price a couple of days later...when the jet lag started to creep in. I can remember at one time the group chuckling while I was barely able to keep my eyes open on the official shuttle bus as we moved from one location to the next.
By now we are all familiar with the similarities and differences between Taiwan and Belize, geographically, culturally, and population sizes, and we can go down a storied list of items to credibly demonstrate these things.
I want to talk to you today about my journey across the Pacific. See, the way I looked at my journey, I was not only traveling on business and to look at potential opportunities for future business. I was a tourist in my own right! I left the confines of our little Belize, known for its magnificent reef system, awesome Maya ruins, spectacular diving, fantastic birding, surreal cave systems, picturesque landscapes, and delightful cuisine to call out a few and oh least I forget our most important, the many authentic and diverse cultures.
The luggage was on board, filled with tokens for exchange by the group for our official meetings to be had that week. We left on a Friday afternoon from Belize and arrived in Taiwan early Sunday morning. After several connections and layovers after, we were touching down in Taipei which was vastly different from the touchdown that one experiences coming into the PGIA. But starkly similar levels of anxiety embraced by most of our visitors flying into Belize for the first time. What will my days be like, will the weather cooperate, will the food be great, will my tours go off on schedule, did I remember to pack an extra set of socks?
We queued up in the line for the immigration check-in and just as we were about to start moving up in the line, we were greeted by our then-Belizean Charge de Affairs and Taiwanese hosts Marti and Flora who whisked us away to another queue reserved for dignitaries and VIP guests.
Wonderful service and excellent clearance that took but a few minutes. It is noteworthy that the incoming area at the Taipei airport was vast and wide...congestion...not in sight - even on likely busy days there. We have something to learn from our friends...it must be a bit larger...more grand...anticipating the future needs and demands...yes PGIA 's arrival hall has to take a page from Taipei's. It is one of the first experiences our guests encounter...we have seen and heard of the snarling lines and long wait to clear immigration and customs. We must do better! We CAN do better on our first impression...
I don't know about many of you here today... But I can tell you that on that journey from the airport into the heart of the city on our shuttle bus. The first thing that started to meet my eyes was the many, the many plots of land that were being fully utilized to produce various types of products. I believe I saw onion and of course, rice. That was an eye-opener - every square inch under usable production.
Quite a bit of contrast to the guest arriving on our shores seeing vast sprawls underutilized and in many cases left unattended winding your way down into the city limits. Or even if you head out West, up North, down South, or Eastward to the cayes by local flights...quite a bit of underdeveloped areas. Of course, we can't confuse these with the MANY protected areas, both terrestrial and marine that have placed us on the world stage as a leader in conservation. And these are all areas traveled by almost all of our guests, in one way or the other, as they unwind, relax and quench their thirst for adventure.
We arrived at our destination hotel in the city.
We've got about 2 hours to settle in and change. Our itinerary is full. We start on arrival. No business meeting as yet, but we're visiting a couple of historic and monumental sites in the city that day. We tour the Chiang Kai Sek Memorial Hall - grand - we tour the national museum - even more spectacular. Reminds me of a visitor taking in the first day visiting our magnificent Caracol or Altun Ha or Xunantunich or Lamanai for that matter.
Photographs were being taken, flashes emitting constantly from the get-go. Take a memory or photo only. Leave all untouched for others to enjoy - a part of the call we sell to our guests as a way of ensuring that they savor each moment and experience. I know by the time we returned back home, I had amassed several hundred photos - somewhere around 7 or 8 hundred to be precise.
See, it's one of the small hobbies I enjoy - taking photos. My camera garnered instant fame and thereafter took on the notoriety of being the official camera. No official shot was complete if the official camera was not in use, mind you, I perhaps just reminded my business cohorts that I have photos yet to burn and copy for them. I may need help escaping after lunch today.
The First day was completed.
We enjoy Taiwanese cuisine in most cases for the first time. Kenny, well, he's not exactly a stranger, having established strong business ties via his company in the Freezone. This is not his first trip to Taiwan. Jimmy. Well, he's a local already, so it's the norm.
We move through what is a rapid week of back-to-back meetings and visits to official offices, businesses, and facilities. Interspersed between all these sessions are small opportunities to tour the Shilin night market, visit the craft center; drop by the presidential palace; visit a traditional temple; drop by our own Belizean Embassy; travel south to the city of Kaohsiung; visit the north shores and a far glimpse of turtle island. Who, within our group will forget the awesome experience at Taipei 101? Our own Destination Belize Magazine 2013 edition took time out to have its own official photo taken on the rooftop lookout peering over Taipei.
We meet officials from the Taitra offices, officials from the CATO offices, the Foreign Affairs office, the Investment Service offices, the Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association, the China Productivity Center, the Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce, and the Chinese National Federation of Industries. We meet with folks in the private sector involved in solar energy and lights. You may recall the recent lighting ceremony at the Coney Drive roundabout that featured the wonderful folks from the Amko Group. We meet private-sector travel agents. We tour recycling facilities and get an impressive close-up of what it takes to clean up a garbage waste site. We visit the E United Group site that houses, an impressive housing complex set within a business and educational complex. Grand stuff. Grand. Impressive.
Our journey south affords us an opportunity to take the high-speed rail. Would you believe it? The rail is shut down for a couple of hours that day just before our scheduled departure, something that has not happened before they say, could it be our Belizean presence? We'll never know for sure. We decided to blame it on Danny, sorry Danny, you were our go-to guy on that one.
I can't help but soak in the miles and miles of fully utilized land areas put to good use and production. Even inside the small towns as we zip in and out, well laid out plots of rice, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, one community - one commodity. It's a great idea and ahead of our time here in Belize. I don't want to think so, potentially possible. I pivot a resounding YES!
Our guest sees miles and miles of cane, rice, sorghum, and beans in the north, oranges, and bananas in the south, livestock ranges, and corn in the west. Now imagine those being buffeted by potatoes, onions, tomatoes, melons, mangoes, coconuts, and a host of other commodities on an exportable scale - one community - one commodity. We have the resources and lands to start something on a replicable scale here.
Now imagine all of those things supporting and feeding into the demands of our tourism culinary products here in the country. The potential is enormous folks. We can make it happen as conventional wisdom says to think outside the box. Deepak Chopra takes a twist on it; he says to get rid of the box! It's time to unlock the limitations holding us back from achieving tomorrow.
Our friends in Taiwan got rid of the box a couple of generations ago. Look at their society today - a leader in innovation, technology, agricultural development, and research, a financial powerhouse. And yes, a tourism hub for MANY mainland Chinese visitors and other Asian-oriented countries. Millions and millions of past and future guests. It was an awesome experience watching the orderly queues waiting for access to the museum and presidential hall as well as 101.
Here at home, we continue to celebrate gains in the thousands via overnight stayovers. We're yet to rocket past the 300-thousand mark. Are we satisfied knowing that we have markets within easy reach of us - 2 hours - just below or just above major hubs in the main US market? Within a day certainly from the Canadian Market.
Road infrastructure and public transport, are world-class and synchronized in Taiwan. We have hurdles to put behind us where that is concerned, but let's all remember, critically, this is ALL a part of the visitor experience being here. If it's bad then it affects the overall visit. It doesn't matter if the accommodations were world-class or if the attractions were - one bad aspect of the product may signal problems. Remember folks, it's about perception and the guests can only perceive their realities.
My perceptions showed me that there is a need for greater order in our tiny country. We lack discipline, we lack willingness, and we lack a truly shared vision embraced by both the public and private sectors. A perfect example of this unified ideology for the greater good was manifested in the city of Kaohsiung's municipal operations. One building housing all municipal authorities including the relevant private sector arms to aid and support business development and growth.
One stop to get business done and moving.
A local park built in the center of town and spanning the river highlighting Eco-friendly themes: bike paths, options for downtime, some quiet, and some serenity. We toured a whiskey production facility with world-class, renowned business connections that are now established and being shipped to the Freezone for its shelves and Mexican markets. The same for specialty chocolate.
Can we serve as a business conduit for products from that market to this part of the world?
A tantalizing question that remains unanswered but provocatively queried when the question of establishing an FTA between both countries arises. Tourism to be included in such an arrangement? A must indeed.
Who can forget the 7 eleven's? One on every corner you turned. Franchised. But boy, they sure had whatever you needed handy. Israel noted that he would bring the chain to Belize. 11 to 7 would be his tagline on it. Partnerships would be needed; it was a well-discussed topic each day, each sighting - we got up to several hundred in the count - only to find out there were several thousand throughout Taiwan.
Small business - that's key - nurtured and grown to feed into the larger product base. Imagine the options we can derive here IF and only IF we embrace and vision and impart discipline to support our tourism product. I look out and see many small businesses bottling fruits, value adding to the many agricultural products that we would nurture and feed into the industry, the many small craft centers generating the multiplicity of LOCALLY MADE crafts, hand carved and hand woven where required. No longer made elsewhere. Stamped - Made in Belize only!
And so in our final two days, we begin the journey back home tracing the steps we started a little over a week ago. Business cards depleted. Marilyn for sure will take extras on the next visit. We have said our goodbyes to our wonderful hosts and new friends and a sort of a final dinner knowing that there comes an end to the experience.
We begin to reflect on the journey.
How intense it was. How busy it was...oh how could I forget the many traffic lights and many motorbikes angling for the right moment to jump out before the pack on color change. A real eye-pleaser seeing the many tricked-out bikes parked alongside the streets. Pride in pretty much everything.
Layovers and connections returned now and a familiar sight unfolds below, that long wonderful stretch of reef starting to protrude into the clear waters of the Caribbean. Ambergris sighted, then Caye Caulker, suddenly Caye chapel as the descent begins. Touchdown again. Home. This is Belize. We're used to it. We live in it. We deal with it as we can. Or should that be our attitude looking ahead?
Our guest is seeing his or her journey for the first time unfolding - delayed lines, waiting for luggage, customs delays, you get out of the airport and your family greets you. Life is again Belizean and we follow up on contacts made.
Pass on information to others to follow up as we try to move initiatives. Our guest now remembers - perception is critical. Start to see those empty spaces, and difficult roadways before they arrive at their place of stay. Yes, the guest will enjoy his stay, love the adventures, love the many faces they meet, and appreciate the varied culinary delights. Was the complete package offered?
That remains our challenge and needs to be our focus nationally.
Perception!!!
Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of my colleagues that took the journey earlier this year, I extend publicly our heartfelt gratitude to the government and people of Taiwan and to the Ambassador and his staff for facilitating our visit to his beautiful country. We may seem light years apart, our countries, but we only need to take a page out of the development culture and books of Taiwan and we'd be well underway to set our country's path to significantly higher heights.
Thank you!
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