Kaohsiung Liuhe Night Market is crowded and deserted. (Data picture)
For those who travel to Taiwan, the night market is one of the most attractive keywords in Taiwan. However, the Taiwan night market, which was once crowded and favored by tourists, is now "disasters" and is in a tragic situation.
According to Taiwan media reports, after the store tide of Kaohsiung Liuhe Night Market and Xinjuejiang Business District broke out, the local Triumph Night Market is also deserted. Even the 40-year-old Kaohsiung Ruibei Night Market was turned off on November 11 for violating the " Kaohsiung City vendor temporary centralized field management autonomous regulations". What is even more eye-catching is that in Taipei City's "food paradise" Shilin Night Market , more than 100 stalls of all sizes and small business districts have closed down, and the business volume of stores that continue to operate is only 10% of the past.
"Silin Night Market has a century-old history. During its heyday, it has more than 2,700 shops and vendors. It can exceed 100,000 people on a day of holiday sightseeing. The traditional food, snacks, fun games, etc. in the night market are also a wonderful memory for many people." A senior tour guide named Su in Taiwan said that in the heyday, the Shilin Night Market could not even stop in the surrounding area, which can be said to be crowded with crowds of people. But now, there are only empty stalls and rental billboards that can be seen.
In the Kaohsiung Liuhe Night Market, there was also a sharp drop in crowds and business closures. Zhan Jinhan, Director-General of the Liuhe Night Market Autonomous Management Committee, said that the past 365 days have been out of the year and there is no time to rest. Now the crowds on weekdays have dropped sharply, and there are about 30 to 50 stalls in all 175 stalls to rest. "At present, the best business can only reach 55% of the heyday, which is an unprecedented situation in the 60-year history of Liuhe Night Market." Why is the night market business so bleak? Zhan Jinhan said that in the past, half of the tourists at Liuhe Night Market accounted for half of the tourists. Now, due to the epidemic, overseas tourists cannot enter Taiwan, and tourists on the island are not enough to support the consumption and operation of the night market. Su Wenshan, chairman of Shilin Night Market Business District, said that in addition to the factors of overseas tourists, they also need to find the reasons for themselves. "Since the opening of mainland tourists to Taiwan in 2008, 5,000 mainland tourists have been flocked to Shilin Night Market every day, which has also made many stall owners taste the sweetness. In order to make quick money, they pursue the table turnover rate, sacrifice quality, and even take the opportunity to raise prices. The consequence of this is to lose the trust of consumers on and off the island, and lose the 'return customers'."
In addition, some netizens on the island believe that Taiwan's economy has been in a recession in recent years, coupled with factors such as the revision of the "Labor Fund Law" and the reform of military and public education annuity, the income of some groups has been affected, so they will naturally be unwilling to consume. Although Taiwan authorities issued "triple coupons" to stimulate consumption this year due to the epidemic, due to the small amount of night market consumption, merchants are unwilling to find change, which prevents consumers on the island from using night markets as their preferred place to use "triple coupons".
In response to the sluggish business, some night markets seek vitality by reducing management fees, negotiating with landlords to reduce rents, holding events with government departments, and combining takeaway business. But how effective can such an approach be? The vendors were waiting and watching.
Under the impact of the new crown epidemic, tourism and catering related industries around the world have been impacted, which is an objective force majeure. However, relevant public opinion pointed out that the island's tourism industry is bleak, and a large part of it is caused by "man-made disasters". Since the Democratic Progressive Party came to power, various actions have continued to seek "independence", which has led to tense cross-strait relations. The number of mainland tourists, which originally accounted for the main force of tourists, has sharply decreased. Since then, the severe winter of Taiwan's tourism industry has begun. The "new southward" policy and the fiscal expenditure of "small repairs and minor repairs" introduced by the DPP authorities cannot save the entire industrial chain at all, resulting in waves of tourism-related industries 's store collapse. Only when cross-strait relations return to the correct track of peaceful development can Taiwan's tourism industry have hope of recovery.
"People's Daily Overseas Edition" (November 28, 2020, Edition 04)
column editor: Zhang Wu Text editor: Li Linwei Title picture source: Visual China Picture editor: Shao Jing
Source: Author: People's Daily Overseas Edition Chai Yifei
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