Following the powerful earthquake and tsunami that struck northeast Japan on March 11 last year, a nuclear crisis further damaged the country, along with its tourism industry, while boosting the number of Japanese traveling to Taiwan.
Over the past year, the number of Taiwanese tourists visiting Japan shrank by 17.5 percent compared with 2010, yet Japanese tourism to Taiwan rose by 19.9 percent, or about 210,000 visitors, to 1.29 million travelers, Tourism Bureau statistics showed.
The statistics also showed that in the first half of last year, average daily expenditures per Japanese tourist in Taiwan reached US$354, a 30 percent increase from the same period in 2010. Both numbers shot to their highest in 56 years.
Japanese tourists’ expenditures were 1.48 times that of the average of overall tourists to Taiwan and 1.66 times that of Chinese tour group tourists.
Travel Agent Association of the Republic of China secretary--general Roget Hsu (許高慶) estimated that Japanese tourists to Taiwan generated NT$53 billion in foreign exchange revenue for the country last year, an increase of almost 50 percent.
Japan’s population is 5.5 times that of Taiwan, but for the first time in nine years, the number of Japanese tourists to Taiwan exceeded the number of Taiwanese visitors traveling to Japan last year, Hsu said.
He said that several reasons contributed to the change, including a drop in the number of Taiwanese travelers to Japan, the yen’s appreciation and the nation’s generous post-quake donations to Japan.
Tsai Ming-ling (蔡明玲), director of the Tourism Bureau’s planning and research division, said that after launching direct Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport)-Haneda flights in October 2010, the country had seen Japanese visitors to Taiwan increase by 17 percent in January last year from the same month in 2010, followed by a 45 percent rise in February last year.
Even with the occurrence of the earthquake in March last year, the number rose by 2 percent, Tsai said.
Following Taiwan’s strong show of support to the tragedy-hit country, which left a lasting impression on many Japanese, Tsai said total arrivals from Japan were up in August, September and December last year by 29 percent, 34 percent and 27 percent respectively.
She said that the nation’s post-quake assistance and care had received widespread media coverage in Japan and have brought about a rise in the number of Japanese tourists.
After the March 11 earthquake, Tsai said the bureau had withdrawn its tourism promotion in Japan and replaced it with images showing Taiwanese making post-quake donations to the earthquake-stricken country, as well as children from Taiwan writing consolation letters to its victims.
Aside from efforts by the Taiwanese authorities, the nation’s airline companies and travel agencies also joined hands to allow 1,000 earthquake victims from northeast Japan to visit — free of charge — Nantou County, which was most severely hit by the 921 Earthquake in 1999, to witness its reconstruction accomplishments from September to November last year.
The free tours were so well received by Japanese victims that the actual number of participants was 1.5 times higher than expected, with many saying the tours had given them hope during a desperate period, she said.
Sunrise Travel Service president Ko Mu-chou (柯牧洲) said the travel agency had seen a 25 percent increase in tour groups from Japan last year.
After the natural catastrophes and Taiwan’s strong support, Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology said that high school students planning a study tour abroad should make Taiwan their top choice, while some Japanese corporations also chose Taiwan for their incentive tours, Ko said.
The upward trend was therefore expected to continue both this year and next year, he said.
Taiwanese tourism to Japan has trended downward since the earthquake, until in January, the number returned to normal with a 22 percent increase.
Commenting on the revival of Japan’s tourism industry, Tsai said that with resolution of the country’s mounting nuclear crisis, Japan would once again become the most favored destination for Taiwanese tourists.
This month, Japan extended Taiwan’s air rights over its territory, Tsai said. In light of this, China Airlines has proposed adding destinations including Kagoshima, Shizuoka and Toyama in Japan, with eight more destinations, including Osaka, likely being added to TransAsia Airways’ routes.
Taiwanese tourism to Japan is expected to peak during the cherry blossom season next month, she said.
In the past, tour groups from Japan generally centered their itineraries around food and accommodation, Tsai said, but the emphasis switched to shopping and entertainment after the March 11 earthquake.
Statistics for the first half of last year show that Japanese tour groups’ expenditures on shopping rose 14 percent and their entertainment spending surged 218 percent, which could likely stem from the yen’s appreciation and a desire to seize the day after the horrific catastrophe last year, Tsai said.
Based on a survey conducted by the bureau, the top five draws for Japanese tourists in Taiwan were local delicacies, beauty spots, the amiability of its people, the short flight and cheap prices, in that order.
Japanese tourists stay an average of 3.9 days, with their most frequently visited sites being night markets, the National Palace Museum, Taipei 101, Jiufen (九份) in New Taipei City (新北市) and National Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall.
Translated by Stacy Hsu, Staff Writer
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taipei placed 14th in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Best Student Cities 2026 list, its highest ever, according to results released yesterday. With an overall score of 89.1, the city climbed 12 places from the previous year, surpassing its previous best ranking of 17th in 2019. Taipei is “one of Asia’s leading higher-education hubs,” with strong employer activity scores and students “enjoying their experience of the city and often keen to stay after graduation,” a QS staff writer said. In addition to Taipei, Hsinchu (71st), Tainan (92nd), Taichung (113th) and Taoyuan (130th) also made QS’ list of the top 150 student cities. Hsinchu showed the
RSS