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Tourism sector hoping for more foreign visitors

Tourism officials were elated at yesterday's news that Taiwan is off the WHO's list of places to avoid.

"We've looked forward to this moment for a long time," said Su Cheng-tien (蘇成田), director-general of the Tourism Bureau under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would ask the roughly 50 countries with travel advisories on Taiwan to follow the WHO's example. It also asked countries with restrictions on Taiwanese travelers to abandon the measures.

Hardest hit by the nearly two-month warning were travel agents.

"The news is extremely encouraging for the domestic travel industry," said Tseng Sheng-hai (曾盛海), chairman of the Taipei Association of Travel Agents (TATA, 台北旅行公會). "The news will help attract foreign visitors back, giving a boost to inbound tourism, which came to a standstill in April and May."

The lifting of the ban also brought hope for the local airline industry.

"The SARS-induced damage to the airline industry has finally come to an end," said Michael Lo (樂大信), chairman of Taipei Airlines Association (台北市航空運輸公會). "I believe the announcement will help the industry gradually recover."

But an official at the hotel association said he still saw tough times ahead.

"Foreign visitors may not regain confidence in Taiwan as it is still one of the SARS-affected areas," said Sean Chuang (莊秀石), chairman of the International Tourist Hotels Association of Taipei (臺北市觀光旅館商業同業公會) and president of the Leofoo Development Co that runs Westin Taipei (六福皇宮). "I still think it will take a while for the sector to recover."

On average, the room occupancy rate in Taipei hotels during May and early June slid by 50 percent compared with the same period last year, Chuang said.

Another hotelier said hotels will bounce back in the fall.

"We expect to see a recovery in September, as July through August is low season for the hotel industry since foreign businesspeople are on vacation," said Phoebe Weng (翁玉琳), a public relations official at the Grand Hyatt Taipei. "For now, we'll still focus on pushing domestic travel."
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