by Jim Brennan
I recently had the opportunity to travel to Taiwan’s scenic east coast again and present at a symposium. I have been involved with tourism planning for the East Coast Tourism Bureau for the past 15 years and previously worked on development of the Green Island Master Plan.
The S.E. Coast of Taiwan is experiencing increased visitation of tourists from mainland China. The rapid growth in tourism and resulting encroachments on tribal lands and traditional use areas is creating negative impacts to Taiwan’s aboriginal community. At the symposium, I presented concepts for culturally sensitive design and discussed processes to involve the native community. I worked with Joe Lee of ECG International, a partner firm, to explore and present case study projects that successfully express cultural identity.
As the first discussion, the symposium served as a starting point for the long-term goal, which is to find common ground that leads to mutually beneficial solutions for the government, tribes, and developers.
Jim and Joe Lee.
There will be lots of hard work to get to a win / win outcome. The director of the East Coast Scenic Area was impressed with the progress made during the meeting. We expect that the plan resulting from this process will protect tribal interests and improve Taiwan’s scenic east coast for all visitors.
