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Tourist numbers top 17m in first eight months of the year

Tourist arrivals from Australia, Malaysia and South Korea registered double-digit growth in the first eight months of this year compared with the same period last year, statistics released by the Ministry of the Interior on Wednesday showed.

At the same time, the number of visitors from Thailand declined by more than 10 percent, ministry officials said.

The total number of visitors reached 17.01 million in the eight-month period, marking a 3.9 percent year-on-year increase, they said.

Japan remained the top source of foreign visitors to Taiwan, with Japanese passport holders making more than 757,000 visits between January and August. That number accounted for 31.5 percent of total tourist arrivals for the period, the officials said.

Chinese citizens, including Hong Kong and Macau residents, formed the second-largest group, making more than 467,000 visits to Taiwan during the period and accounting for 20 percent of the total.

The US came in third, with 261,000-plus Americans visiting between January and August and contributing 11 percent of the total.

Compared with last year's figures, the number of visitors from Australia rose 18.8 percent, while the number of visitors from Malaysia and South Korea increased 14.8 percent and 14.6 percent respectively.

Among Taiwan's major tourist sources, only visitors from Thailand registered a double-digit decrease, falling 10.4 percent.

The statistics also showed that Hong Kong and Macau were the most popular first stop for Taiwanese travelers, accounting for 47 percent; followed by Japan at 14 percent and the US at 7 percent. Both Hong Kong and Macau are major transit hubs for Taiwanese passengers bound for China.

Thanks to the opening of direct ferry services between Taiwan's outlying islands and three Chinese port cities, Kinmen and Matsu have also become increasingly popular.
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