China’s second-largest direct marketing company, Perfect (China) Commodity Co, is in the process of sending 130 tour groups, consisting of a total of 5,200 people, to Taiwan over a five day period.
While this may seem like a lot of people, statistics from the Tourism Bureau paint a different picture of Chinese tourists.
On Wednesday, the bureau released a report on the spending habits of tourists who visited Taiwan last year.
The report showed that Chinese tourists spent more on shopping here than Japanese tourists, spending an average of US$117 per day, approximately equivalent to NT$3,800, which was 50 percent more than tourists from Malaysia, who were listed as spending the second most on shopping.
However, the report showed that Japanese tourists spent the most on accommodation and food, spending an average of NT$10,000 per day in these areas, which was 35 percent more than tourists from China.
According to the report, one million Japanese tourists visited Taiwan last year, which was a drop off of approximately 8 percent from 2008.
Japanese tourists still contributed the most foreign income to Taiwan’s economy, accounting for a total of NT$60 billion, the report showed.
Chinese tourists were listed as second, with 970,000 visiting Taiwan, almost double the number in 2008, bringing in approximately NT$51 billion.
The bureau’s statistics showed that after the decision two years ago to allow Chinese tourists to travel to Taiwan, the increase in Chinese tourists has corresponded to a drop in the overall amount of money spent by tourists in Taiwan.
The bureau said that with the increase in the number of Chinese tourists to Taiwan, the influence of their expenditures on Taiwan’s economy has increased.
The Chinese tourists who initially visited Taiwan were those with high incomes, but now lower income Chinese are coming and this has naturally led to a decrease in the overall spend per tourist.
The report showed 4.39 million people visited Taiwan last year and spending a total of US$6.8 billion (NT$219 billion), an increase of approximately 14 percent and the highest amount Taiwan has ever made from tourism.
The report also showed that last year, tourists who came to Taiwan for business, in tour groups and those who visited individually spent an average of US$216, approximately NT$7,000 per day, on accommodation, food, transport and shopping.
Meanwhile, the first tour group from Perfect (China) Commodity Co, made up of 440 people, arrived at Kaohsiung Siaogang Airport on Thursday and proceeded to travel by bus to Kenting and elsewhere.
However, the nine-day trip to Taiwan does not include Kaohsiung and Tainan. When asked, tour members said they didn’t know whether political factors were a factor.
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
PAWSITIVE IMPACT: A shop owner said that while he adopted cats to take care of rodents, they have also attracted younger visitors who also buy his dried goods In Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕), cats lounging in shops along Dihua Street do more than nap amid the scent of dried seafood. Many have become beloved fixtures who double as photography models, attracting visitors and helping boost sales in one of the capital’s most historic quarters. A recent photo contest featuring more than a dozen shop cats drew more than 2,200 submissions, turning everyday cat-spotting into a friendly competition that attracted amateur and professional photographers. “It’s rare to see cats standing, so when it suddenly did, it felt like a lucky cat,” said Sabrina Hsu (徐淳蔚), who won the NT$10,000 top prize in
RSS