The Tourism Bureau said that it is aiming to attract 200,000 Muslim tourists to the nation this year, adding that it is monitoring an outbreak of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and how it is affecting tourism.
Bureau Director-General David Hsieh (謝謂君) said that the bureau has set the goal of having 10 million international tourists visit the nation this year and that Muslims are one market the bureau is looking at, including people from Southeast Asian nations and the Middle East, he said.
To create a Muslim-friendly travel experience, Hsieh said that the bureau has begun to issue certifications for halal restaurants.
He said that the nation has 70 restaurants and three central kitchen operations that have been certified as offering halal food, including those at hotels and theme parks.
Meanwhile, Hsieh said that the bureau has 13 national scenic areas under its administration and each one has been equipped with a prayer room and a washing facility for Muslim tourists.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Jian-yu (陳建宇) has also requested that similar facilities be made available at freeway rest areas, as well as railway stations, Hsieh said, adding that the prayer room at Taipei Railway Station has been frequently used by Muslim visitors since it was opened at the beginning of this year.
Because of the availability of these facilities, Hsieh said that Taiwan has been ranked 10th in terms of a Muslim-friendly environment among non-Muslim countries.
He also said that the nation had succeeded in drawing approximately 180,000 Muslim tourists last year, marking a growth of 12.5 percent compared with 2013.
The bureau is striving to raise the number of Muslim tourists by 10 percent this year compared with last year, while hoping to reach 200,000, Hsieh said.
So far most of the Muslim tourists have come from Malaysia and Indonesia, he said.
With new flight services to Taiwan offered by Emirates and Turkish Airlines, he said that there are now more tourists visiting from the Middle East.
Hsieh also said that the bureau is aware that three patients have been diagnosed with MERS-CoV in South Korea, including one had recently returned from a trip to the Middle East.
The bureau said that it would ask travel agencies to ensure that tourists maintain good standards of hygiene and practice self health management to prevent the spread of the disease to Taiwan.
MERS-CoV has been found in 24 countries, but most of the cases have been in Middle East.
The Centers for Disease Control yesterday warned of a growing threat from MERS-CoV because fo the cases in South Korea.
The CDC said people planning to travel to affected areas should pay greater attention to personal hygiene and hand cleanliness.
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
The Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union yesterday vowed to protest at the EVA Air Marathon on Sunday next week should EVA Airway Corp’s management continue to ignore the union’s petition to change rules on employees’ leave of absence system, after a flight attendant reportedly died after working on a long-haul flight while ill. The case has generated public discussion over whether taking personal or sick leave should affect a worker’s performance review. Several union members yesterday protested at the Legislative Yuan, holding white flowers and placards, while shouting: “Life is priceless; requesting leave is not a crime.” “The union is scheduled to meet with
‘UNITED FRONT’ RHETORIC: China’s TAO also plans to hold weekly, instead of biweekly, news conferences because it wants to control the cross-strait discourse, an expert said China’s plan to expand its single-entry visa-on-arrival service to Taiwanese would be of limited interest to Taiwanese and is a feeble attempt by Chinese administrators to demonstrate that they are doing something, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said the program aims to facilitate travel to China for Taiwanese compatriots, regardless of whether they are arriving via direct flights or are entering mainland China through Hong Kong, Macau or other countries, and they would be able to apply for a single-entry visa-on-arrival at all eligible entry points in China. The policy aims
The government yesterday donated US$200,000 to the Philippines to support post-earthquake relief and recovery efforts, following a powerful magnitude 6.9 quake that struck Cebu Province late last month, killing at least 72 people and injuring 559 others. The donation was presented earlier yesterday by Representative to the Philippines Wallace Chow (周民淦) to Cherbett Maralit, deputy resident representative of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office, at Taiwan’s representative office in Manila. In his remarks, Chow expressed concern for those affected by the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck the central Philippines on the night of Sept. 30. "We sincerely hope for the earliest possible
RSS