taiwannews.com.tw/etn/news_c … ety_TAIWAN
What cha think? Good or bad?
It’ll be crap. Probably have a killer karaoke room, though.
Very bad. Danshui is already horribly overdeveloped. What they really want to do is put a casino there and build a big new road out there so that the area can be even more congested than it already is. Remember that in Taiwan, no one is interested in actually operating a luxury hotel. They just want to build so that they can have access to loans from the banks.
I thought casinos were for penghu?
Tommy, the casinos are for “off-shore islands”. Both Changhua and Tainan are planning/hoping to use some industrial estate islands that are already connected by bridge, because they are technically islands.
So are they trying to make Bali into an island somehow?? So Tamshui can be across from a casino?
All they need is to make TAiwan the 51st US State and have some American Injuns come over and do some Injun casinos? Like in Calif?
Last time I was at Fisherman’s warf -not on the weekend- I found there was nothing to eat and not much to do but watch the waves. Hence, my question: what is the point of building a hotel there, if you do not have the amenities to go with it?
I mean, back home we depend on tourism. A luxury hotel will be surrounded by a nice , swimable beach, kayak rent stores, food and fruit and drinks atands, souvenir stores… have you guys been to the only big building occupied -the other one is empty, or at least so it seems- on the dock? Pathetic, to say the least.
Some people believe there is a lot of potential there. My colleague was telling me that he went to see this development in Danshuei, where the homes have a jacuzzi in the balcony. The structire is built to sustain a 8. something quake, with a damper system just like the 101. Price? You don’t want to know.
Which makes me think: how in heaven’s name will they justify a 7000nts a night fare there, when even in Tokyo you can find rooms for 4500nts?
Umm, that may not be correct.
The news of this draft bill was not reported in the English press. Note that the development planned for Danshui is a consolidated (or integrated) development that would satisfy all the requirements of the draft bill for a casino concession. The bill was introduced and the development then announced.
[quote]Legislator Chiu Yi (at-large, KMT) has put forward a draft bill to legalize gambling on the main island of Taiwan. Under Chiu’s proposed “Act Governing Management of Consolidated Gaming Zones”, four licenses would be issued for special gaming zones. These zones may be located on Taiwan rather than restricted to offshore islands such as Penghu. Operators of the zones would have a minimum capitalization of (NT$5 billion, c. US$160 million). Shareholders with international gaming experience would be required, but foreign ownership is capped at 50%.
Draft gaming bills have been circulating in Taiwan’s legislature for nearly 10 years now but have been held back by concerns about the effect on Taiwan’s social fabric. But new president Ma Ying-jeou ran on a platform that included a promise to legalize tourist-oriented gaming on Taiwan’s offshore islands. As a result, most have expected a breakthrough in the new session of the legislature. As for legislators proposing their own legislation, Lin Yi-shih, executive director of the KMT’s policy committee said that “everything can be discussed.”
The biggest differences between Chiu Yi’s bill and the proposed Offshore Island Development Act’s gaming provisions are that Chiu’s bill would link the number of licenses to the number of international visitors, the number of licenses would be restricted to four, and gaming would not be restricted to offshore islands. Legislators from the offshore island are expected to vigorously oppose gaming on Taiwan.
Chiu’s bill also provides that casinos would be developed and operated in the context of consolidated tourist centers that would include department stores, convention halls, hotels, and casinos, all with express limits on size.
The bill would also establish a Gaming Control Bureau under the Executive Yuan and a inter-ministry review committee to approve projects. Licenses would be valid for a maximum of 30 years and a second license could not be granted within 50 kilometers.
Employees at casinos would not be allowed to have criminal records and customers would have to be at least 20 years of age. If the customers were Taiwanese, they would be required to pay an annual fee of NT$200,000 (c. US$6,600) or a one-time entrance fee of NT$2000 (c… US$66) to enter.
Casinos would be banned from offering any kind of credit, ATM machines would be barred, and no advertising would be permitted. In addition, casinos would be required to set up an automatic personal loss-stop mechanism.
People who have declared bankruptcy, have bad credit records, or receive welfare payments would not be permitted to enter casinos along with habitual gamblers. Fines for violations of these rules would range from NT$100,000 NT$200,000. Fines could be imposed consecutively and egregious offenders ordered to stop doing business.[/quote]
The Changhua and Tainan proposals I was referring to were mentioned on www.cna.com.tw a few months ago - neither were reported in English, but I can’t seem to find the stories anymore (my Chinese searching skills are dependent on Google translate).
I meant that casinos are being proposed for the mainland of Taiwan, not just offshore islands. I’m sure Changhua and Tainan are eager to cash in as well.
The CNA stories remain on the web only a week and their files are … well, a black hole.
I bet the Four Seasons chain is shaking in their boots.
I think a smallish (not more then 100 rooms) stylish, pricey hotel in Tamshui could be viable because theres always the pocket of wealthy who do like to sort of go somewhere but still have five star comfort. And the MRT ride out to tamshui and back could be enough of an adventure to them?
And this is part of a Taipei trip that Singaporeans like to do, and a bunch of them are wealthy enough to want to pay 7000nt a nite.
[quote=“tommy525”]I think a smallish (not more then 100 rooms) stylish, pricey hotel in Danshui could be viable because theres always the pocket of wealthy who do like to sort of go somewhere but still have five star comfort. And the MRT ride out to Danshui and back could be enough of an adventure to them?
And this is part of a Taipei trip that Singaporeans like to do, and a bunch of them are wealthy enough to want to pay 7000nt a night.[/quote]
Singaporeans, Koreans, Japanese and taiwanese are all willing to pay. NT7000 is peanuts. There are dozens of hotels around Taiwan charging far more than this. The Lalu at Sun Moon Lake charges NT13,000 minimum and is solidly booked out all year. People fly in and have cars drive them directly there from the airport. Danshui, with its views of the river flowing into the ocean and Yangmingshan is stunningly beautiful in places.