Business travelers have declined 20 percent over the past decade as major trade fairs increasingly lose importance on the world stage, a trend that could persist and pose a challenge to hotels targeting them, hotel operators said yesterday.
“The government has failed to take note of the continued decline in business travelers, while seeking to help attract tourists from Southeast Asia,” Leofoo Tourism Group (六福旅遊集團) chief operating officer Lulu Chuang (莊豐如) told a forum in Taipei yesterday.
Taipei hotels used to run at full occupancy rates during Computex, one of the world’s largest computer and technology trade shows held in Taipei annually, but turnout proved disappointing this year because China organized a consumer electronics show at the same time, Chuang said.
The saturated market for electronics contributed to the decline in participating firms and visitors because Taiwan is home to the world’s major electronics suppliers, computer brands and peripheral vendors, she said.
Chuang said her company no longer expects Computex and the nation’s other trade shows to fill its hotels and entertainment facilities.
Leofoo Group operates the Westin Taipei (台北威斯汀六福皇宮), the Courtyard by Marriott Taipei (六福萬怡), the Leofoo Hotel (六福客棧), the Leofoo Resort (六福莊), the Leofoo Village Theme Park (六福村), the Leofoo Water Park (六福水樂園) and other recreational facilities.
Innovation and creativity offer no remedy to the decline in business travelers, which has more to do with the nation’s industrial policy, Chuang said.
The government has yet to respond to the issue, while urging local firms to diversify their markets and product lines to cope with growing competition from China and cooling ties across the Taiwan Strait, the hotelier said.
The tourism industry needs to learn more about the government’s “new southbound policy” so that it can better respond to the policy, she said.
Taipei Marriott Hotel (台北萬豪酒店) general manager Mark Liu (劉恆昌) noted the importance of trade shows, meetings, conventions and other events for hospitality providers.
Foreign travelers do not fly to Taiwan to stay at hotels, they come to conduct business or for leisure, Liu said.
“The government should help create business or leisure needs to make up for the dimming importance of local trade shows, not just the drop in Chinese tourists,” Liu said.
New Year’s Eve is a successful example of this as many foreign travelers fill Taipei’s hotels over the New Year holiday, thanks to the fireworks display at Taipei 101 and other attractions, Liu said.
Gloria Hotel Group (華泰大飯店集團) chief executive John Chen (陳炯福) said the government and the tourism industry should work together to make foreign travelers stay longer and boost tourism revenue rather than focus on the number of tourists.
“More important is making visiting Taiwan a unique and unforgettable experience so that foreigners will want to visit again and again,” Chen said.
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