The Ministry of Economic Affairs' (MOEA) work to raise the competitiveness of the nation's shopping districts has been outstandingly effective and is worthy of recognition, Premier Jiang Yi-huah said at today's Cabinet meeting.
The premier made these remarks after the MOEA's briefing about its efforts.
Jiang noted that the MOEA has actively worked on shopping district development for years and adapted its efforts to unique local characteristics and regional differences. The ministry's overall planning for each district is very thorough and includes concept popularization, personnel training, marketing and promotion, and comprehensive counseling. Brand management concepts are also employed to create a special image for each district, and promotion is internationalized.
"A shopping district is a window to the local economy and should showcase the area's economic and cultural vitality," the premier said. These districts' industries tend to be very diverse because of regional differences, and the majority of the enterprises are small or medium-sized enterprises or micro-businesses.
Hence, besides strengthening the links between shopping districts and local industries, the government hopes to introduce modern technology, including information and communication technology, so the districts can entice more residents and tourists to visit. The MOEA will continue to combine the resources of relevant agencies, such as the Ministry of Science and Technology, to jointly promote "smart districts."
The premier directed the MOEA to take heed of sanitation-related issues of public concern, including waste management, recycling, and wastewater treatment, to make shopping districts quality and tasteful environments.
To protect consumers, neither domestic nor international tourists should ever again be subjected to price gouging, Jiang added.
As for transportation, he instructed the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to help the MOEA create transportation plans for districts in order to prevent traffic jams or overcrowding resulting from poor planning.
Some shopping districts are decorated excessively with huge signboards and LED lights, and in trying to highlight their characteristics actually undermine them, the premier noted. He instructed the MOEA to invite creative young Taiwanese designers to apply simple but impressive concepts to burnish districts' images.
MOEA officials noted that since launching the plan, several "spotlight" districts have already gained fame domestically and internationally while highlighting their local characteristics, such as heavenly lanterns in Pingxi, flowers in Xinshe, and sword lions in Anping in the northern, central and southern parts of the island, respectively.
The overall output value of shopping districts around Taiwan has risen from NT$700 million (US$23.2 million) in 2004 to NT$5.9 billion (US$195.8 million) in 2013, the officials indicated, while the number of visits to these zones by tourists has increased from 350,000 in 2004 to 3.09 million in 2013.
In addition, the MOEA launched a strategy to help the district organizations to collaborate with travel agencies to design tourist itineraries. From 2012 to 2013, 121 such itineraries were developed for local and international tourists, attracting more than 600,000 visitors and bringing in around NT$580 million (US$19.3 million) of revenue for shopping districts.
The MOEA officials further indicated that their policies have achieved the goals of guiding restoration of the shopping districts to create high-quality shopping environments, helping to refine consumers' tastes and identify specialties for the districts, introducing innovative marketing to fuel a trend of shopping district tours, and boosting local employment and promoting economic development. The ministry is now working toward promoting the districts internationally and creating a friendlier environment for consumers.