Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Yu Mei-nu (尤美女) yesterday lashed out at Minister of Transportation and Communications Yeh Kuang-shih (葉匡時) over controversial subsidies made to Chinese travel agencies that were designed to promote tourism to the nation.
The Tourism Bureau recently announced revisions to a regulation on subsidized cruise ship charters from China, extending the potential recipients of subsidies from being limited to Taiwanese travel agencies operating cross-strait services to Chinese travel agencies, Yu said.
She said that according to the regulations, while Taiwanese travel agencies are subject to a restriction that subsidy applicants have a clear of record in terms of censure for bad service, there are none imposed on their Chinese counterparts.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Yeh said that Yu had the “wrong information,” since the subsidies are for all ships carrying international visitors rather than being aimed at Chinese operators alone.
“There is nothing wrong with encouraging shiploads of tourists to visit as opposed to wooing one tourist to come to Taiwan, especially given the better purchasing power cruise ship passengers represent,” Yeh said.
Yeh said Yu was “speaking nonsense with her eyes wide open.”
In response, Yu said the subsidies, according to legislature’s intention for the regulations, are to promote tourism to Taiwan, “not for you to simply give away to Chinese travel agencies, which are operated on an end-to-end model,” with end-to-end referring to a situation where few local businesses benefit from Chinese tour groups who follow established itineraries comprised of destinations invested in by Chinese or Hong Kong corporations.
Yeh touted the government’s “success in attracting tourists,” saying that since President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has taken office, the number of visitors has soared from no more than 4 million per year to more than 8 million per year.
“And you know what people’s reaction to this is? [They think] Chinese tourists have made Taiwan uglier and messier, as well as crowded out tourists from other countries,” Yu said.
Yeh said the number of tourists from Japan and South Korea has increased in the first six months of this year compared with the same period last year.
“The point is that you subsidize the Chinese travel agencies and call it promotion of tourism. What kind of tourism development is this? The money will not flow to Taiwanese, but will end up in the hands of Chinese travel agencies,” Yu said.
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