It will cost more to visit the National Palace Museum come July 1, but museum Director Fung Ming-chu (馮明珠) yesterday said that the increases will mainly affect overseas visitors.
Prices for individual tickets will increase by NT$90, rising to NT$250 from NT$160.
Group visitors will be charged NT$230 each, a 130 percent increase from the current NT$100 charge.
Discount tickets for small children, seniors and students are scheduled to be raised by NT$70, to NT$150 from NT$80.
However, Republic of China citizens will only have to pay NT$150 for a ticket if they produce their national identification card.
That is NT$10 less than the current price of NT$160, Fung told a committee meeting at the Legislative Yuan yesterday.
The large increase in the group ticket price is expected to impact mainly overseas visitors, especially those from China.
A total of 2.8 million people visited the museum in groups in 2012, 2.12 million of whom were from China.
Despite the steep increase in the group admission rate, 18 categories of Taiwanese can still enter the museum for free, including students on school trips, senior citizens and low-income individuals on a pre-approved basis, Fung said.
The increases, first proposed in March last year, were postponed twice because of strong opposition from the public and travel agencies.
Rising operating costs and electricity rates and the soaring number of visitors to the museum have made the ticket increases necessary, Fung said.
More than 4.5 million people visited the museum last year.
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