TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Despite the fear of aftershocks, more than 80 tourists arrived in Hualien County Tuesday (April 9) on a charter flight straight from Brunei.

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake on April 3 caused widespread devastation in the county, leaving at least 13 people dead and six missing. Major roads across the region have been blocked by rockfalls, with more than 800 aftershocks occurring over the past week.

Even though the disaster led to fears that Hualien’s tourism sector would lose NT$5.3 billion (US$165 million), charter flights from overseas are still scheduled to go ahead this month. The first one was a Royal Brunei Airlines Airbus A320 with more than 80 people on board, which landed at Hualien Airport Tuesday.

The visitors will spend three days and two nights in the county, per CNA. They will visit the Dongdamen night market in Hualien City, Qixingtan Beach, Liyu Lake, and the Farm Dream Estates in Fenglin Township. Taroko National Park will not be on their itinerary, as it bore the brunt of the earthquake.

The local authorities said they had high hopes that the flight from Brunei signaled the start of a tourism revival in Hualien after the earthquake. On April 12, a direct charter flight from Thailand will arrive, with a flight from Vietnam scheduled for April 27.

According to the county government, efforts will continue to arrange similar services from Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Malaysia directly to Hualien.