President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday said the government had appropriated NT$30 billion (US$926 million) for the Tourism Development Fund and incorporated the tourism industry as one of the nation’s six flagship industries.
Ma made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the Taipei International Travel Fair (ITF, 台北國際旅展), which began yesterday at the Taipei World Trade Center. He also said he expected the number of tourists from overseas would top 4.1 million this year.
“Since last year, we have experienced the global financial crisis, the worldwide spread of A(H1N1) influenza and the catastrophe caused by Typhoon Morakot. None of these factors have stopped the growth of the nation’s tourism industry. The arrival of Chinese tourists serves as a major boost,” Ma said.
“From January to February, visitors from overseas increased by 11.4 percent compared with the same period last year,” Ma said. “Fifty percent of the overseas tourists are from China.”
Ma announced that starting next year, there would also be direct flights between Japan’s Haneda Airport and Taipei’s Songshan Airport.
“A total of eight flights will be provided daily between Taiwan and Japan,” he said. “The service is expected to facilitate travel between two countries.”
Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) also attended the ceremony, saying that tourist arrivals in Taiwan had increased by 28 percent. The Cross-Strait Travel Fair also began yesterday at the Taipei World Trade Center.
Ma and Wu left, however, after checking out the booths at ITF and did not visit the Cross-Strait Travel Fair, which held its opening ceremony an hour earlier than the ITF. Starting next year, the two events will be held separately.
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