One of China’s biggest online travel agencies will soon begin selling Taiwan High Speed Rail passes as the country prepares to welcome more free independent travelers (FIT) from China, China’s Nanfang Daily reported yesterday.
Ctrip.com (攜程網), which provides discounted travel services to more than 14 million members, will cooperate with Taiwan’s ezTravel.com (易遊網) to offer the high-speed rail pass to “tap into the market of individual travelers to Taiwan,” the report said.
Chinese nationals can already book the pass through a number of travel agencies, according to Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC, 台灣高鐵), and Ctrip.com would give consumers an additional online outlet through which they can buy the pass.
The three-day and five-day passes, priced from 525 yuan (US$83), allow ticketholders to take unlimited rides on the high-speed rail line within the designated time periods between any of the system’s eight stations, the report said.
The pass, which offers passengers savings of about 30 to 50 percent off regular fares, is available to all foreign nationals who reside outside of Taiwan, THSRC said.
A total of just more than 56,000 Chinese tourists came to Taiwan under the FIT program between late June last year and March 26, according to the Tourism Bureau.
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