Farglory Ocean Park Teams Up with 'Attack on Titan' to Break Down Barriers to Hualien Tourism

TAIPEI, June 17 (Central News Agency) — To revitalize tourism in Hualien, Farglory Ocean Park has teamed up with the Japanese anime 'Attack on Titan' to launch a joint summer initiative in 2026. Senior executives from the Farglory Group stated that Hualien's tourism industry has been severely impacted by earthquakes and typhoons over the past two years, leaving it metaphorically 'walled in.' Inspired by the anime's theme of breaking down walls, Farglory is actively adopting digitalization and AI to lay the groundwork for a gradual recovery of Hualien's tourism sector.

Farglory Recreation & Leisure Enterprise held a joint press conference today titled 'The Advancing Summer,' announcing that its three brands — Farglory Ocean Park, Farglory Yuelai Hotel, and YUE HOTEL — will jointly launch the 2026 summer campaign starting July 1. The ocean park is collaborating with the popular anime 'Attack on Titan,' integrating themed experiences across Yuelai Hotel and YUE HOTEL properties.

In the world of 'Attack on Titan,' the collapse of the outermost defensive wall, 'Wall Maria,' reveals a much broader world beyond.

Wu Hsiang-sheng, Chairman of Farglory Recreation & Leisure Enterprise, said in today's interview that over the past two years, Farglory Yuelai has faced its own 'walls.' Successive disasters, including the April 3 earthquake and typhoons, have severely impacted Hualien's tourism industry, making it difficult to fully showcase the region's tourism value and leading to a challenging market environment. However, with domestic travel demand steadily recovering, Hualien's tourism market is showing signs of gradual growth.

Wu emphasized that Farglory refuses to passively wait for recovery and is instead proactively 'breaking down walls' — through digitalization, AI-driven process optimization, and international IP collaborations — aiming for a 20% revenue increase during the summer peak season.

To revitalize tourism, Farglory Yuelai is deeply integrating Hualien's mountain and ocean resources into its products and itineraries, including river tracing, hiking, cycling, rafting, and ocean education programs extended from the ocean park. Additionally, to address labor shortages, the company is actively introducing digitalization and AI. 'Breaking down walls comes at a cost and involves pain,' Wu said, 'but only through continuous investment and solid foundation-building can we reap rewards.'

On digitalization, Wu cited an example where tablets have replaced phone calls; the system automatically assigns tasks to engineering and management departments, sends synchronized notifications, and enables real-time processing. Reports have also been upgraded to automated processing, reducing the team's daily working hours by 2 to 3 hours.

Assessing the performance of the Hualien business units, Wu stated that from January to June 2026, revenue from the two Hualien hotels — Farglory Yuelai and YUE HOTEL — grew 10% year-on-year. While still below 2023 levels, the trend shows gradual recovery. With efforts during this summer season, the company expects to approach 2023 performance levels.

He further explained that Farglory's recreation and entertainment division aims to achieve NT$2 billion in revenue in 2026, including Farglory Yuelai in Hualien, three YUE HOTELs, and the Kaohsiung InterContinental, representing about a 20% increase from the previous year. The Taipei InterContinental, located next to the Taipei Dome, is expected to open as early as September. YUE HOTEL currently operates three locations with a total of 140 rooms, and there are no clear expansion plans at this time.

Observing the tourism industry, Wu noted that from a long-term perspective, the sector generally follows cyclical patterns, and it is currently in a downturn phase, which will accelerate the elimination of weaker players. Hualien's tourism competitors include international destinations such as Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia, where consumers have higher expectations for price and entertainment value, forcing operators to create stronger 'perceived value.'

Wu described 2026 as a 'foundation-building year' and expressed optimism that domestic tourism will take on a new form by 2027, with Hualien expected to see further recovery.