Chunghwa Post yesterday launched a new cross-strait express delivery service that allows Chinese tourists to send their purchases home before they leave Taiwan.
Chunghwa Post chairman Philip Weng (翁文祺) said at an inauguration ceremony for the service that the number of Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan is expected to exceed 3 million this year, adding that it would not be long before the number hits the 5 million mark.
Weng said that Chinese tourists often like to buy a large quantities of Taiwanese snacks and souvenirs to take home.
However, airline companies charge an extra fee for overweight luggage, he said.
The new service would save Chinese tourists the hassle of carrying their purchases around with them while they travel, and the items can even reach home before the tourists return, he said.
“I do not think it is going to be an extremely profitable business, but people will appreciate the considerate service provided by Chunghwa Post,” he said.
According to the postal company, the service offers boxes for items weighing up to 5kg, or less than 10kg.
Each package can carry no more than five boxes of pastries. Skincare products or cosmetics are limited to six items only, with each package containing no more than eight facial masks.
Should a package contain either milk powder or tea leaves, each item must not weigh more than 2kg.
The company said that packages would take three to nine days to arrive, depending on the distance of the delivery.
The rate for the service varies from NT$724 to NT$2,300 per package, which does not include an overweight charge.
Taiwan Confectionary, Biscuit and Floury Food Industry Association secretary-general Sunny Chen (陳朝陽) said that the service could help boost the sale of the Taiwanese pastry products by about 10 percent.
Lee Kan-hsiang (李甘祥), director of Chunghwa Post’s department of mail business and operations, said that the service would not only be available in 123 postal offices nationwide, but also in stores and accommodation frequented by Chinese tourists.
Lee said that Taiwanese can also use the service, adding that online vendors can utilize the service to deliver goods to buyers in China.
The company estimated that initially about 5,000 to 10,000 packages would be delivered daily through the service.
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