With Taiwan reporting a significant drop in inbound travel since Sept. 11, next week's Taipei travel fair has taken on new importance for an industry swamped with bad news.
"To prevent next year's inbound travel figures from being as disappointing as this year's, we have to seize the opportunity to promote the nation's tourism market," said Chang Hsuen lao (張學勞), director general of the Tourism Bureau under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.
In its ninth year, the Taipei International Travel Fair has its work cut out for it, with visitors to the country plummeting since September.
The number of inbound travelers tumbled by 22 percent in September and 24 percent in October from the same period last year, according to statistics compiled by the bureau. Last year, a total of 2.62 million travelers came to Taiwan.
Prior to the attacks on the US, the government had invested heavily in tourism, spending NT$200 million to promote Taiwan.
"However, right after September 11, business dropped significantly," Chang said.
"Earlier this year, we estimated inbound travel growth would hit 10 percent for the year, but we were forced to [drastically reduce] that number to less than 1 percent."
The four-day expo at the World Trade Center in Taipei will not only enable Taiwan to promote itself, but will also serve as an opportunity for international tourism promoters to meet their local counterparts.
"The Taipei International Travel Fair is the biggest tourism show in Southeast Asia and most buyers won't miss the event," said Stanley Yen (
Yen said that the central and local governments have gotten on the bandwagon for the first time and will have large-scale activities at the exhibition to be aimed at promoting domestic tourism.
"For example, the Council of Agriculture plans to promote `recreational agriculture' in the form of bed and breakfasts or farming and fishing activities," Yen said.
With heavy competition expected after Taiwan's entry into the WTO early next year, the government is assisting the local agriculture industry to make the leap into tourism, Yen said.
The Taipei City Government also plans to get in on the action by plugging the city's hot spring resorts, restaurants and museums.
Dominating booth space at the show will be Japan with 70 booths, followed by the Council of Agriculture's 45 booths and the Taipei City Government's 33.
A total of 548 booths will be set up representing 362 organizations from 47 countries, including hotels, airlines and recreation hotspots from around the world.
The event opens next Dec. 15 and runs through the 18th. The hall opens at 12 noon on Dec. 15 and is open on the following days from 9am to 5pm. Admission is NT$200.
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