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Second wave of direct-flight tourists to arrive today

About 1,200 Chinese tourists are scheduled to arrive today and will be landing at the Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei Songshan and Kaohsiung International Airport, the Tourism Bureau said yesterday.

Between tomorrow and Monday, a further 700 Chinese tourists will come as part of another 28 tour groups.

The bureau said that these tourists come from six cities in China, including Beijing, Tianjin, Xiamen, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shandong.

The tourists arriving this weekend have garnered much attention because the government will start aiming for at least 3,000 Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan per day, a campaign promise made by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).

Statistics showed that, however, the number of actual visitors still falls well short of the government’s expectations.

Minister of Transportation and Communications Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國), when prompted to comment on this last night, said that one has to treat the performance this week with a normal and healthy attitude.

He said that the visit of the six inaugural groups two weeks ago was made possible because the Chinese government handled their applications as special cases and reviewed them at a faster pace than usual. That was the norm of administrative procedures, he said.

“Travel agencies in both China and Taiwan have to sit down and work out arrangements, which will take at least a month,” he said, “They will also have to spend time reviewing the qualifications, which is sure to mean a lot of adjustments will be needed.”

As tourism chiefs in some of the Chinese provinces were still traveling in Taiwan last week, many of the applications could not be approved in time for this week.

The number of flights available at this stage also limits the number of tourists that can come, he said.

“This is not the last or the only time,” Mao added. “I heard Chinese tourists are lining up and waiting to come. The situation will improve.”

Aside from Chinese tourists, the ministry also launched an event yesterday targeting young backpackers around the nation.

The Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) has teamed up with representatives of Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) Youth Hostel Association to offer various discount tour packages to young people who would like to travel around the nation in the summer.

The packages available include three-day tours, five-day tours and seven-day tours.

The price includes a railway ticket and one night at a youth hostel. The tours cost NT$799, NT$999 and NT$1,199.

The discount packages will be provided to only 1,000 people, and only those between 15 and 30 years of age can apply. They must also come in a group of two before they can register.

Registration will begin on July 25 and will be closed immediately when all the spots are filled.
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