TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—A planned move of the venue for this year’s “Spring Scream” music and art festival, which is part of the annual Kenting Music Festival, has sent a chill through the tourism industry in Kenting, a popular beach town near the southernmost tip of Taiwan that has been experiencing a serious tourism slump in recent years.
According to a brief announcement on Spring Scream’s official website, the musical event will move from Kenting to Kentington Resort (小墾丁度假村) in Manzhou Township, Pingtung County, and the festival is scheduled to take place over the three days from April 5 to April 7.
Spring Scream was founded in Taiwan by two foreign musicians who decided to create the festival in 1995 to encourage the development of independent bands and original creations. Over the years, the event has greatly boosted local economy.
Since the Spring Scream music and art festival took place for the first time in Kenting in April 1995, the annual event has always been held at venues near a beach in the Kenting area along Provincial Highway No. 26. However, this year the festival insisted to move the venue inland to Kentington Resort, which is about 30 to 40 minutes from Kenting.
Kentington Resort said Spring Scream has begun selling tickets on its official website, adding that the resort will not provide camping service due to facility limit.
As the Hengchun peninsula has been seeing the biggest decline in tourism in 10 years, it was estimated that about 50,000 fewer people attended last year’s Kenting Music Festival compared to the previous year. .
However, the Kenting National Park said the Spring Wave Music and Art Festival, which moved from Kenting to Taipei in 2016, is moving back to Kenting and has applied to hold the event in May.
For this year, the Spring Break on the Beach at Chateau Beach Resort (夏都春宴) and the Foam Music Festival (墾丁泡泡趴) at South Bay have been confirmed to take place, and both events have begun selling tickets. The Spring Break on the Beach will take place on April 6 and 7, while the Foam Music Festival will be held on April 4 and 5.
Spring Break on the Beach at Chateau Beach Resort (photo from the event's Facebook page: On the BEACH)
