Taitung International Balloon Festival

Taitung's tourism development has long been limited by its transportation problems, making tourism enhancement merely a slogan that fails to create real economic value. Located in the southeastern corner of Taiwan, accessing Taitung is inconvenient, requiring long-distance travel times via railway and highways. Difficulty in obtaining train tickets and expensive airfare contribute to isolating Taitung from the rest of Taiwan and manifesting disadvantages for developing domestic tourism. Moreover, private sector investment was often discouraged upon considering transportation costs, which further hindered the development of the tourism industry in Taitung County. On the other hand, the tourism activities in Taitung seemed to be conducted as just a mere formality, short-lived and lacking innovation, thus mitigating the attractiveness and appeal for tourists.