Half Taiwan residents out for recreation during lunar New Year holiday

Special Report: Spring Festival Special 2009

TAIPEI, Feb. 2 (Chinese media) -- This year's Spring

Festival holiday saw a tourist boom in Taiwan, with nearly half of the local

residents out for sightseeing, the island's tourism authority said Monday.

From Jan. 26, the first day of the Chinese lunar New

Year, to Feb. 1, the authority recorded 11.33 million visitors to the island's

tourist attractions, up 92 percent from the last new year holiday.

The tourism revenue during the seven days topped

22.54 billion New Taiwan dollars (676.2 million U.S. dollars), the authority

said.

The booming tourist market was partly stimulated by

the distribution of shopping coupons, the tourist department said, adding that

amusement parks and hot spring hotels all recorded surges in income.

The Taiwan authorities handed out shopping coupons

worth more than 85 billion New Taiwan dollars (about 2.6 billion U.S. dollars)

prior to the holiday to spur spending amid an export downturn, insufficient

consumer demand and lack of investment.