Blessing tourism for Japan guests
http://www.studentpost.com.tw/commentary/default.asp?sIssue=1138
日本觀光客的祈福之旅
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Approximately 79,000 Japanese tourists visited Taiwan this past April, a three percent drop over April of a year ago.
News was recently released that the Taipei City Government has invested some NT$10 million (US$300,000) in new tour promotional packages again aimed at the Japanese market.
The new promotional packages tout a list of Taipei temples, and urge people in Japan to jump on a plane and fly to Taiwan for temple hopping that will supposedly lead to good luck in life.
The promoters are waving a litany of blessings in the air that several temples are claiming to offer to their adherents. I have heard of entertainment tourism. I have heard of eco-tourism, medical tourism, and educational tourism. Why not make room now for blessing tourism?
The promotional blurbs urge Japanese travelers in need of high grades for examinations to bow heads and light incense at Taipei's Confucius Temple. The Great Teacher is waiting for an opportunity to shower rewards on scholars under stress.
Our would-be Japanese guests surely know the difference between puffery and truth. There is no need to get too worked up about this imaginative, if somewhat comically designed sales strategy. The question that remains, however, is what such sales pitches do to the image of a country I dearly love.
Max-I think the Japanese people travel here to pray by the Confucius temple because they want to travel safe and have good luck. But why blurb so much for Taipei temples? Because the Taipei temples are good and bless people. So let’s make a room for blessing tourism.
