File photo

Taipei, Dec. 25 (CNA) The entrance fee to the popular tourist attraction of Eluanbi Park in Kenting in southern Taiwan will be increased starting on Jan. 1, 2016 to ease pressure from large visitor flows.

Regular admission to the park will be raised from the current NT$40 (US$1.22) to NT$60, and discounted tickets will be increased from NT$20 to NT$30, the Construction and Planning Agency under the Ministry of the Interior announced Friday.

Another top destination in the Kenting area, Maobitou Park, which can currently be visited for free, will begin charging for entry to the park starting on May 1, 2016. Adult tickets will cost NT$30 and discounted tickets will cost NT$15.

There will also be new regulations covering visits to the Longkeng and Nanrenshan ecological reserve areas in Kenting National Park.

Beginning on March 1, 2016, visitors to those areas will have to tour the reserves in groups of 15 led by a qualified guide, and pay for the guide's services.

Tourists interested in visiting the ecological reserve sites are encouraged to register on the Kenting National Park Headquarters' website prior to their visit to secure a slot in a group, said Liu Pei-tung (劉培東), head of the headquarters.

At present, visitors must first register to be admitted to Longkeng and Nanrenshan but they are allowed to roam the areas on their own without being accompanied by a guide.

The number of visitors to Nanrenshan will remain capped at 400 people per day, and visitor numbers to Longkeng will be limited to 150 in the morning and another 150 in the afternoon.

Of the maximum 150 visitors in the morning and afternoon hours allowed to visit Longkeng, no more than 50 in each half of the day can be foreign nationals to ensure that domestic tourists have plenty of spots.

In a separate part of the country, Yushan National Park in central Taiwan will be closed to hikers for one month from Jan. 1 to Jan. 31, 2016.

(By Tai Ya-chen and Elizabeth Hsu)
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