The Bureau of Tourism released the second wave of results of its national hotel evaluation program, with 11 hotels awarded a five-star rating this time. But so far only 51 hotels around the island have joined the program, accounting for less than 10% of the industry.

In the future, these plaques will mark hotels that have been evaluated and certified by the Bureau of Tourism.

The BOT conducted the first phase of its hotel evaluation last November, and recently completed the second phase.

Out of 27 hotels that took part in the evaluation, 11 received five stars.

According to the BOT, the ratings are a reflection of the hardware and facilities offered by hotels.

Therefore, lower ratings do not necessarily mean lower quality, and all certified hotels rated above average in cleanliness, safety, and service.

As only 10% of Taiwan's hotels have taken part in the evaluation and participation is not mandatory, the BOT will be using cash bonuses to encourage early participation.

A number of hotels that have taken part in the evaluation say that certification has indeed helped them attract foreign tourists.

Taiwan drew a record 5.56 million tourists last year, and experts say that fully implementing the evaluation process would be key in attracting more tourists.