Hotel operators garnered handsome sales from the first day of this year’s Taipei International Travel Fair and enjoyed revenue growth due to robust demand, according to market sources.
Formosa International Hotels Corp (晶華國際酒店), which operates the Regent Hotel in Taipei and Silks Place hotels in Yilan and Taroko National Park, garnered NT$15 million (US$496,886) in sales on the first day of the event, up from about NT$11 million a year earlier, through the sale of dining and hotel room coupons.
Before the travel fair opened, Formosa International Hotels launched an online travel fair as a warm-up, posting NT$30 million in sales, compared with the NT$18 million registered at last year’s online event.
The hotel operator said both online and physical travel fairs have surpassed a sales target of NT$40 million it had previously set for the two events combined, thanks to strong demand.
Ambassador Hotel Ltd (國賓大飯店), which runs a hotel in Taipei, Hsinchu and Greater Kaohsiung, posted more than NT$5 million in sales on the first day of the fair.
Having expanded its booth in the exhibition venue, Ambassador said it would likely generate more than NT$20 million in sales from the travel fair, compared with NT$15 million last year.
Grand Hyatt Hotel Taipei (台北君悅大飯店) also posted more than NT$5 million in sales on the first day of the event and said that it expected that an influx of visitors over the weekend would help it top the NT$20 million in sales it recorded last year.
Meanwhile, Leofoo Tourism Group (六福旅遊集團) posted NT$16.68 million in sales on the first day of the travel fair, hitting a record high, as it gave out free movie tickets and other gifts to reward its customers.
The group operates Westin Hotel (六福皇宮) and Leofoo Hotel (六福客棧) in Taipei, Leofoo Resort (六福莊) in Kenting (墾丁) and various amusement parks throughout the country.
The largest travel exhibition of its kind in Taiwan, which opened on Friday and ends today, attracted 51,238 visitors on the first day, up almost 10 percent from the 46,722 that it recorded on the first day of last year’s event.
The cold weather and constant rains failed to dampen consumers’ enthusiasm at the fair, the sources said.
The third exhibition hall of the Taipei World Trade Center where the event was held was crowded with visitors, with many more lining up outside waiting to enter the venue, they said.
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