Sustainable Tourism

Heping Island has "a rich ethnic history of more than 400 years, "strange rock scenery," "designated one of the 21 most beautiful locations to view sunrise in the world" and its "unique Satoumi culture." After the Northguan National Scenic Area Headquarters took over management of the park in 2014, with the intention of "restoring the beauty of Heping Island," it sought to adopt sustainable strategies such as subtractive design, reduction engineering, system integration, and low-carbon tourism to promote the renewal of the scenic area's landscape environment and facilities.

Thereafter, private organizations were introduced to participate in and share the operation and management of the park. The Northguan National Scenic Area Headquarters and local operator Jk-Goods International Co., Ltd. work together as part of a public-private arrangement. This takes into consideration environmental load capacity, recreational quality and the needs of tourists of different ethnic groups, gender, age and accessibility, to jointly build Heping Island Park into an "international sustainable tourism island," while also adhering to the development principles of “landscape conservation, environmental education, landscape tourism and community participation."

The "Top 100 Destination Sustainability Stories Award " is the first phase of the GD-ACP program. Its main purpose is to allow global green destinations or partner organizations to share each other's sustainable tourism challenges, knowledge and experience, while demonstrating destination effort and innovation. The Dutch Green Tourism Destinations Foundation selects the 100 best practice stories of the year from stories submitted by destinations around the world; the top 100 selected stories directly enter the Berlin Travel Fair in March the following year to compete for the "Green Tourism Destinations" Green Destinations Story Awards at ITB Berlin.

The Northguan National Scenic Area Headquarters became a member of GD-ACP in 2022 and has passed the first stage of "Sustainability Check" in 2023. With the theme "A Path Toward the Hideaway: Creating Access to the Hideaway Beach in Alabao Bay Through Sustainability Practices," the headquarters participated in the "Global Green Destinations Day Conference 2023," held in Tallinn, Estonia, the European Green Capital, on October 9, 2023 where it received a "2023 Green Destinations Top 100 Stories" award.

In 2024, the Northguan Scenic Area Headquarters achieved recognition for its commitment to sustainable development and the core values of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Its successful initiative, “Working Together to Restore the Beauty of Heping Island,” was awarded the Silver Award in the 2024 TSAA for the category of “SDG 08: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.” Additionally, the Headquarters’ sustainability-themed short film won the Gold Award at the 8th Taipei Golden Eagle Micro Movie Festival for its efforts to open a path to Alabao Bay through sustainable practices. These dual achievements mark a significant step forward towards sustainable travel and an eco-friendly Taiwan.

The United Nations passed the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” and its 17 SDGs in 2015 to initiate global action. To express its SDGs core values, the Northguan Scenic Area Headquarters began its successful “Marine Cleanup Journey: I Love Beach Cleaning” initiative, which earned the Bronze Award in the 2025 TSAA Taiwan Sustainability Action Awards under the category of “SDG 14: Life Below Water — Marine Ecosystem Conservation.” The short film, “Marine Cleanup Journey: Practicing Satoumi Initiative at the Baisha Bay Nature Center” received the Bronze Award at the 9th Taipei Golden Eagle Micro Movie Festival. These dual achievements mark a significant step forward toward the vision of sustainable travel and an eco-friendly Taiwan.

Yehliu Geopark and Queen's Head are famous geological landscapes on the north coast that attract a large number of domestic and foreign visitors. In order to maintain the quality of the recreational experience and improve service standards, peak traffic diversion control has been implemented since October 2013.

During peak season (March 1 to May 31, October 1 to November 30) the ticket sales gate and ticket inspection gate are closed in the control time period (09:30-11:00, 13: 30-15:00). Red, yellow and green lights are used to show the current congestion level in the park. If the light is red (more than 2,500 people), group visitors without reservations will not be able to enter the park until the light turns yellow (1,700~2,500 people). If the light is "green" with less than 1,700 people, all arrivals can enter.

For visits during the control time period, group visitors must make a reservation with Neo-Space International Inc. by phone or fax one day in advance, or before 8 a.m. on the same day via the Internet or App. After receiving the reservation code SMS, visitors can go to the ticket office to purchase tickets and receive priority admission to the park. It is recommended that group visitors who have not made a reservation change the time slot or visit the surrounding attractions first. When the number of visitors falls and entry is possible visitors will be notified by text message and sent a code.

Since implementation, the proportion of people entering the park during non-peak hours has increased each year, effectively spreading out the number of tourists.

The Northguan National Scenic Area Headquarters has built an official "Smart Tourism Info" website to provide real-time information such as visitor flow warnings, traffic flow warnings, parking information, and bus traffic at scenic spots within its jurisdiction. Visitors should access the platform to better understand visitor numbers and traffic at scenic spots.

In addition, during extended holidays/weekends, the Headquarters works with Chunghwa Telecom to provide smart tourism information through mobile phone text messaging; if telecom users enter areas around major scenic spots in the headquarters’ jurisdiction, the system proactively sends messages so tourists have immediate access to information on visitor numbers and traffic flow.