TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The first direct charter flight from the Vietnamese capital Hanoi touched down in Taitung Friday (Aug. 30) morning.

The VietJet Air plane was carrying 229 visitors to Taiwan’s southeast, while 230 Taiwanese had booked the flight in the opposite direction, per CNA. Taitung County Government rated the experiment a success, announcing there would be four more flights during October.

The visitors from Vietnam were welcomed with Indigenous music and dance, and with giftboxes containing sweets and tea leaves. The county also arranged visits to the scenic coastal area, hot springs, and Indigenous cultural areas.

The region’s clean air, rich culture, and varied foods won the praise of Vietnamese visitors, according to the report. The county said it planned to organize more international charter flights to revive tourism in the region, which was hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and by the April 3 Hualien earthquake.