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Tourists satisfied: survey

An overwhelming majority of Chinese tourists have been satisfied with their visits to Taiwan, the results of an opinion poll released yesterday showed.

The survey was conducted by the Tourism Bureau as part of its efforts to upgrade the quality of travel services for Chinese tour groups and ensure their safety.

Copies of the questionnaire were distributed beginning last November to arriving Chinese tourists at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Kaohsiung International Airport along with a tourism publicity leaflet.

As of May 18, 960 valid samples had been collected from departing Chinese tourists at the two airports -- the nation's two main gateways.

According to the poll results, 95.5 percent of the respondents said they were satisfied with overall services offered by their travel agencies.

Local tour guides' professional attitude and good customer service skills received a high approval rating of 98.1 percent, the survey showed.

Moreover, the survey found that 98 percent of the respondents were pleased with tour guides' on-the-spot explanatory skills.

Up to 95.1 percent gave a thumbs-up to travel services and arrangements, while lodgings also received a 91.5 percent approval rating and 89.8 percent said they were generally satisfied with the content of local tour packages.

In comparison, food and beverage services received the lowest rating, but those who gave a positive assessment still accounted for 85.6 percent of the total.

The survey also found that travel costs for a seven-day, six-night tour package for Chinese tour groups ranged between NT$34,482 and NT$43,096 per person.

The number of shopping stops arranged by travel agencies for Chinese tourists mostly ranged between five and six throughout their stay, the survey showed.

Nearly 40 percent of the respondents said they felt prices were generally higher at outlets arranged by travel agencies, while 35 percent said the prices at those outlets were fair.

Meanwhile, 72.2 percent said local tour guides usually took them to stores bearing a "secure shopping guarantee" mark, while less than 2 percent said their tour guides took them to stores bearing no such certificate.

The Tourism Bureau began to implement a new travel cost, service quality and shopping guarantee system last November after a tour bus crash on Oct. 2 that year claimed six lives, including five Chinese tourists from Dalian. Under the new regulatory system, the minimum travel cost for Chinese tour groups is set at US$80 per person per day to ensure good customer service, travel quality and safety.

In a separate survey of 508 randomly chosen Chinese tourists conducted by the Tourism Bureau last year to explore their shopping and travel preferences, most respondents also gave a good review of their travel experiences. The only unpleasant thing they cited was slow visa processing.
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