The visitor information center at Kinmen Airport Thursday.
Kinmen, Nov. 23 (CNA) The offshore county of Kinmen was presented with an excellence award on Monday for the services of its i-center visitor information centers, according to the county's government.
It was among a total of 13 excellence awards for i-center visitor information centers throughout Taiwan that were presented by Chang Shi-chung (張錫聰), deputy director-general of the Tourism Bureau in Taipei.
The centers were organized under a three-tier system that categorizes the service centers set up in international airports under the first-tier, the centers at important places of transportation under the second-tier and the centers at national scenic areas under the third-tier.
Winners in the first-tier include Taipei Songshan Airport, Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Kaohsiung International Airport, while winners in the second-tier of special municipalities include Taoyuan City government, Kaohsiung City government, New Taipei City government and Taipei City government.
The winners in the second-tier of non-special municipalities include Kinmen County government and Miaoli County government.
The winners in the third-tier include: the Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area Administration, Siraya National Scenic Area Administration, East Rift Valley National Scenic Area Administration and the Southwest Coast National Scenic Area Administration.
The award is part of an evaluation plan that was started in 2004 to improve the quality of Taiwan's tourists visitors centers. Visitor centers across all tiers in the country are inspected and assessed annually under this plan.
The assessments include sending an unannounced undercover inspector or "mystery shopper" posing as a tourist who visits the travel centers to evaluate the services provided in a fair and objective pretense.
A mystery shopper is a tool used by market research or by organizations internally to measure the quality of service or level of compliance of its regulations.
According to the Kinmen County Tourism Department, the visitor information centers at Kinmen Airport and Kinmen's Shuitou Pier have staff who can give travel advice and information in foreign languages. It also offers free Wi-Fi internet connection and mobile phone charging service.
The visitor information center at Kinmen Airport Thursday.
The centers also have postcard mailing services, first-aid kits, reading glasses and information on activities and events, according to the county's Tourism Department.
Chen Mei-ling (陳美齡), director-general of Kinmen's Tourism Department, said it will continue to provide excellent services and a friendly environment for tourism to leave a good impression on visitors.
(By Huang Huei-min and William Yen)
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