Overseas tourists so far unaffected by anti-Chen sit-in

Overseas tourists have not been affected so far by the large-scale sit-in protest against President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in downtown Taipei, but tour operators said yesterday they hoped the round-the-clock rally would come to a peaceful end soon.

"Currently we're keeping a close eye on whether the number of tourists coming at the end of the month, the traditional boom season, will be affected," said Roger Hsu (許高慶), secretary general of the Travel Agent Association of Taiwan (旅行公會全國聯合會), during a telephone interview yesterday.

Several Japanese tour groups have made enquiries about the situation before boarding planes, he said. Japanese account for around one-third of the nation's inbound tourists.

Wilson Chen (陳威淳), deputy general manager of STC Travel Service (世帝喜旅行社), which only targets Japanese tourists, said no cancelations had been made as yet since Japan's NHK TV station was providing constant updates on the protest.

However, he expressed concern that the situation might spin out of control during the "siege" campaign -- a move to surround the Presidential Office and Chen's official Yushan Residence tonight -- which might scare away tourists and further erode already sagging consumption.

Despite the confidence of tour operators for the near term, the Canadian government has issued a notice, reminding its nationals of Taiwan's "demonstrations."

The announcement, posted on the Web sites of the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei and Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade since Thursday last week, detailed the areas affected during the "major political rallies" that began last Saturday.

An official from the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei, speaking on condition of anonymity, said this was just a routine update.

For the first eight months of the year, Taiwan received 2.3 million foreign tourists, up by 4.78 percent from a year ago, according to a press release issued by the Tourism Bureau yesterday.

Those on leisure trips accounted for around 40 percent, growing by 10.57 percent year on year, it said, adding that this was solid proof that the government's efforts to improve domestic tourism were taking effect.