Okinawa Mayor Ishigaki leads a delegation to visit Kaohsiung, hoping for direct flights to expand exchanges between Taiwan and Japan

Mayor Yoshitaka Nakayama of Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture, led the city government team and local industry representatives to take the first flight to Kaohsiung to visit Mayor Chen Qimai. (Photo by reporter Wang Rongxiang)

Tigerair Taiwan launched the Kaohsiung-Ishigaki Island route on September 2. Mayor Yoshitaka Nakayama of Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture, led a city government team and local industry representatives to fly to Kaohsiung on the first flight and visited Mayor Chen Chimai, hoping to use direct flights as an opportunity to expand urban exchanges.

Yoshitaka Nakayama pointed out that he thanked the Kaohsiung City Government and airlines for their support and warm reception. The opening of direct flights will further facilitate Taiwanese tourists to visit Ishigaki Island. Ishigaki City has rich natural and tourism resources, including coral reef ecology, Kawahira Bay and starry sky viewing and other special tourism experiences. It is also famous for Ishigaki beef, sea salt and other special products.

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In the future, we look forward to continuing to deepen exchanges in tourism, culture, and agriculture and livestock products with Kaohsiung, and further enhancing the friendship between Taiwan and Japan through the exchange of specialty products and food. We also expect to participate in Kaohsiung’s “Wine Drinking Festival” event at the end of the year to promote exchanges and cooperation between the two places.

Chen Qimai said that both Taiwan and Ishigaki Island are rich in marine resources and cultural features. Ishigaki City is about 270 kilometers away from Taiwan. It has long had close exchanges with Taiwan in history, agriculture and other fields. As early as the 1930s, Taiwanese agricultural immigrants brought pineapple planting and processing technology to Ishigaki Island.

Chen Qimai believes that direct flights between the two cities will help further expand exchanges in tourism, culture and industry. He welcomes friends from Ishigaki City and Japan to take direct flights to Gao. They can use the light rail to roam the Asian New Bay Area, enjoy the harbor city scenery, visit diverse scenic spots, taste delicious food, and feel the human touch of southern Taiwan.

Tourism Director Gao Minlin said that according to statistics from the Tourism Administration of the Ministry of Transport, Japanese tourists accounted for the largest number of visitors to Taiwan in the first half of this year, reaching 680,499, accounting for 15.8%. The proportion of Japanese tourists traveling to the south also increased by 5.45% compared with the same period last year, and the proportion of Japanese tourists visiting Taiwan for accommodation increased to nearly 23%.

Currently, Kaohsiung has direct flights to Japan to 11 destinations with 144 flights per week. In the future, it can further integrate cruise routes to develop diversified "Fly-Cruise" sea and air tourism products and expand the two-way tourism market between Taiwan and Japan.

Mayor Yoshitaka Nakayama of Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture, led the city government team and local business representatives to take the first flight to Kaohsiung for a visit. (Photo by reporter Wang Rongxiang)