Lunar New Year travel slumps

The number of domestic travelers during the Lunar New Year holiday this year will drop 20 percent for inbound tours and by as much as 40 percent for outbound tours year-on-year as a result of a shorter vacation and a sluggish economy, a local travel agent said.

"Since the Lunar New Year vacation only lasts six days, four to five-day tours to Japan and Southeast Asia, which cost between NT$30,000 and NT$40,000, are the most popular overseas destinations," Allen Lin (林祐任), section chief of domestic tours at the Taipei-based South East Travel Service Co (東南旅行社), said by telephone yesterday.

HEADING SOUTH

For domestic tours, last year saw an equal number of travelers heading for central and southern Taiwan, but this year, Lin said that 90 percent of his domestic customers planned to spend their vacation in Southern Taiwan.

"People traveling to Central Taiwan this year will drive there, as they only book hotels through travel agencies. The sluggish economy has prompted customers to seek ways to cut on costs," Lin said.

The Taiwan High Speed Rail, launched on Jan. 5 last year, is also a convenient way to travel south, Lin said.

"Chiayi and Tainan have replaced Hualien as the most popular domestic destination for the Lunar New Year holiday, as a lot of people want to experience the [high speed] rail," Lin said.

Compared last year, hotel room and high-speed rail prices this year are slightly higher.

On average, a three-day domestic package tour using the high speed rail this year will cost about NT$19,000, he said, to last year's NT$18,000.

Expenses outbound travel, meanwhile, did not increase much this year, Lin said.

CHINA

Following the heavy snowstorms that have paralyzed some parts of China, the Taiwanese government has required that domestic travel agencies assist tourists who cannot travel there to find other destinations if they do not want a refund.

"Customers who had initially planned to travel to the affected areas in China, for which they paid between NT$25,000 and NT$30,000, can now travel to the more expensive Hokkaido, Japan, for an additional NT$1,000 to NT$2,000," Peter Tsao (曹家維), junior vice president of marketing at the Taipei-based Signet Travel Co (新台旅行社), said in a telephone interview yesterday.

"Those trips would normally have cost NT$40,000," he said.

"It is a win-win situation for us and our customers, as they get to travel to Hokkaido for much less money than usual, while we book seats on our charter flights," Tsao said.