By Liu Yu-ching and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writerFollowing a record number of tourists last year, Penghu County’s Cimei Township (七美) plans to charge visitors a fee to help combat record amounts of trash and alleviate its soaring disposal costs. The township, famous for the Twin-Hearts Fish Trap (雙心石滬), said it plans to impose fees on tourist ferries after becoming one of the nation’s most popular tourist destinations, although such a move is at least a year away. The proposal still has to be reviewed by the township council, and, if passed, would provide a notice period for ferry operators, but the earliest it could be imposed would be next year, he added. However, some tourism operators criticized the idea, warning that it could reduce visitors. Nearly 700,000 to 800,000 people visited the Seven Beauties Tomb (七美人塚) in the township when the admission fee was NT$20 each, but fewer than 300,000 visited after the fee was raised to NT$30, the operators said.

Source: Taipei Times March 02, 2020 15:56 UTC