Luring people from Asia to visit Taiwan should be the focus of local travel agents, according to industry insiders.
Arrivals from Hong Kong and Macau have remained steady, although Japanese visitors are on the decline, they said.
Tourism operators pointed to signs that tourist arrivals in Taiwan this year may not be as good as expected, although the Tourism Bureau has set 2004 as "Taiwan tourism year" with the aim of attracting 3.2 million foreign visitors.
Statistics released by the Tourism Bureau showed that foreign arrivals in the first quarter were not as high as expected, especially Japanese tourists, who have been the top source of foreign visitors. Their numbers have declined by more than 30 percent on average.
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