Travel industry professionals yesterday laughed at the government's opening to Chinese tourists, calling the plan "ridiculous."
"From the marketing point of view, this open policy is ridiculous," said Eric Chang (章致遠), chairman at Travel Quality Assurance Association (旅社業品質保障協會).
Under the current policy only Chinese nationals studying abroad or those holding residency in a foreign country can come to Taiwan.
"But most students can't afford to travel internationally and foreign residents weren't prevented from visiting Taiwan before the new regulation was enacted," Chang said.
The real money is in the pocketbooks of the masses just across the Strait.
"Our target customers are the Chinese that are living in China," said Tseng Sheng-hai (曾盛海), chairman of the Taipei Association of Travel Agents (台北旅行公會).
If the government can allow all Chinese to come here, it will create about NT$100 billion in new revenue annually for the ailing travel sector, he said.
"With such strict government regulations, Chinese nationals who want to visit Taiwan the most are not allowed to come," Tseng said. "And that's where the real market potential is."
Starting from Jan. 1, the government began allowing Chinese nationals traveling in tour groups to visit Taiwan. However, as of yesterday, not a single person has applied for a visa at Taiwan's overseas representative offices.
Travel agencies urge the government to sit down and talk with China about direct travel links as soon as possible.
"We know that further opening depends on China's response as well, so we hope cross-strait talks can be held soon," Tseng said. "Otherwise, holding civilian level talks first could serve as an alternative."
Nevertheless, the No. 2 man at the Mainland Affairs Council said the administration will open the market slowly.
"We believe that Chinese nationals who are living or studying abroad are less likely to overstay their visas," said John Deng (
One industry professional said Chinese are going to find a way into Taiwan, regardless of government policy.
"On average, there are about three tour groups from China visiting Sun Moon Lake every day," said Wang Shang-te (
"Visiting Taiwan is very attractive to Chinese -- they all want to check out Taiwan," Wang said.
Chinese tourists told Wang that they read about Sun Moon Lake in their elementary school textbooks and that their curiousity had been aroused -- that's why they wanted to visit the area, he said.
The global economic slowdown, combined with the Sept. 11 attacks on the US, have had a dramatic impact on tourism worldwide. Since China is one of the few countries experiencing solid economic growth and it is extremely close to Taiwan, local tourist services would like to capitalize on the market.
RSS