Taiwan recorded the highest growth in foreign tourist arrivals in the first half of the year, according to a report released by the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) on Thursday.
Inbound tourism in Taiwan rose 26.7 percent year-on-year in the first six months of the year, slightly ahead of second-placed Japan’s 26.4 growth, the report said.
During the six-month period, foreign tourist arrivals in the Asia-Pacific region rose 5.4 percent annually, the report showed. South Korea and Hong Kong also recorded double-digit growth, while China saw a 2 percent decline.
International tourist arrivals worldwide hit 517 million, up 4.6 percent, the report said.
Global rankings in terms of growth during the first half of the year showed that the top 10 destinations after Taiwan and Japan were Mexico (19.8 percent), South Korea (18.5 percent), Greece and Argentina (both with 16.7 percent), Vietnam (15.6 percent), Poland (13 percent), Portugal (12.2 percent), Hong Kong and Malaysia (10.5 percent) and Sweden (10.1 percent).
The report also showed that Taiwan’s international tourism revenue for the first half of the year rose 18.5 percent from a year earlier, behind only Japan, with a 27.5 percent increase, and South Korea, with a 25.2 percent rise, in the world’s rankings.
Commenting on the report, Tourism Bureau Deputy Director-General Liu Hsi-lin (劉喜臨) said that the growth in foreign tourist arrivals reflected Taiwan’s international promotion efforts, especially its move to attract Asian tourists.
In the first eight months of the year, the number of foreign visitor arrivals in Taiwan totaled 6.44 million, a 25.65 percent increase from a year earlier. About 90 percent of the tourists were from Asia, led by China, Japan and Hong Kong/Macau.
Liu said the bureau would continue to promote the nation’s beautiful scenery and rich culture to potential foreign visitors this year, and is confident of attracting 9.5 million visitors for the whole year, up from about 8 million last year.
Meanwhile, Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said he expected foreign tourist arrivals to top 10 million next year, based on current tourism data and bolstered by the government’s promotion campaigns.
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