Regular non-stop scheduled flights between Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Miyazaki Prefecture in southern Japan have resumed after a four-month pause, the Tourism Bureau announced yesterday.
The twice-weekly flights will be operated by China Airlines and are scheduled to run on Thursday and Sunday afternoons. EVA Airways, which operated the route previously, canceled its flights in September because of declining passenger numbers.
Janice Lai (賴瑟珍), directorgeneral of the Tourism Bureau, expressed optimism that the resumption of direct links would be beneficial to both countries.
“While flight operations are subject to market forces, we do hope that more Japanese tourists will use this opportunity to visit Taiwan and vice-versa,” Lai said.
She said the bureau had been increasing its marketing focus on smaller cities and rural districts overseas.
“Working together with airlines and other partners, we hope to develop new tourism markets ... using [innovative] marketing techniques and celebrities,” Lai said.
Bureau statistics showed that the number of Japanese tourists visiting Taiwan last year were just over 1 million, a drop of nearly 8 percent from the previous year. The bulk of the decrease was a 24 percent fall in the number of business trips.
During the same period, 1.11 million Taiwanese tourists visited Japan, a 15 percent drop from 2008.
Speaking in Taipei yesterday, Miyazaki Governor Hideo Higashikokubaru said the resumption of direct links would enhance mutual cooperation.
“We hope to continue expanding cooperation of both Miyazaki and the rest of Japan with Taiwan,” he said.
Hideo, a former comedian well-known for his role in the Japanese game show Takeshi’s Castle, led a dating trip to Taiwan last year.
The trip saw 36 single Japanese men and women arrive in Taipei on a dating tour designed to promote the city to a Japanese audience.
Eight of the participants have since tied the knot, said Hideo, adding that Lai should consider inviting the married couples back for a “honeymoon trip.”
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