The Tourism Bureau yesterday said it would implement “quality, not quantity” policies after rumors that the Chinese government would this month cut the number of tour groups allowed into Taiwan.
Academics were cautiously supportive of the statement, but said that China might attempt to pass price rises resulting from a potential change in policy on to Taiwanese travel agencies in the form of handling fees.
The bureau said the rumors have yet to be confirmed, citing an increase of Chinese tourists in January compared with December last year, adding that the National Immigration Agency Web site showed a backlog of entry visa applications by Chinese groups stretching to March 20 and beyond.
Chinese visitors in January totaled 366,000, compared with 320,000 in December last year, the bureau said.
Visitors on the free independent travel program helped maintain visitor numbers, while Chinese tour groups over the Lunar New Year break, numbering 6,507 people, exceeded the count posted over the Lunar New Year last year, the bureau said.
The bureau said plans were in the pipeline to scale up the ratio of “quality” tour groups.
Formerly only comprising of one-third of all groups entering Taiwan, the bureau is mulling requiring two-thirds of all tour groups to adhere to “quality group” standards: a daily minimum of NT$500 to be spent on lunch and dinner and one-third of the group’s lodgings to be in hotels with at least a one-star rating, the bureau said.
Tourism Bureau Director-General David Hsieh (謝謂君) said the change in policy was aimed at cracking down on price manipulation from agencies benefiting from large groups attracted by cut-throat pricing, adding that the bureau was not considering loosening the limits on the number of Chinese tourists allowed entry per day in the foreseeable future.
However, Sunrise Travel Service president Ko Mu-chou (柯牧洲) urged the government to ease restrictions on the number of Chinese visitors allowed entry.
With politics looming over cross-strait interactions, Chinese authorities have enough ways to cut the number of people visiting Taiwan without Taipei doing their job for them, Ko said.
Former Travel Agent Association of Taiwan secretary-general Hsu Kao-ching (許高慶) said the tourism market might enter a vicious cycle of price undercutting if the present situation of tourism being a political bargaining chip becomes ingrained.
Meanwhile, academics said that if the number of Chinese tourists drops, it could spark a period of “growing pains” for travel agencies reliant on Chinese tour groups.
Tour agencies will want to develop disparate travel routes and offer better service, Shih Hsin University professor Chen Chr-ji (陳墀吉).
It is also a warning to the tourism industry that it should not rely solely on Chinese tour groups, Chen said.
Chen said that travel agencies should focus on attracting tourists to make subsequent visits, suggesting that in-depth tours and having tours feature local or folk customs as the primary attraction, would go a long way toward enticing people to revisit Taiwan.
In addition, academics and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) suggested looking elsewhere for tourists, especially among ASEAN members.
Providence University professor Huang Cheng-tsung (黃正聰) said fast-tracking visa applications for tour groups from Southeast Asia would compensate for even a 30 percent reduction in the number of Chinese tourists in the coming year.
The bureau is negotiating with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on expediting Southeast Asian tourist visa applications to reduce processing times from 14 days to seven days, adding that the bureau was targeting an increase of 130,000 Southeast Asian tourists to Taiwan this year.
The DPP said that it is looking to promote visa-waiver programs or visa-on-landing programs with more countries.
The DPP said it is mulling a tourism-oriented “iTaiwan Pass” that combines the functions of the EasyCard and the iPass payment systems used in northern and southern Taiwan respectively to facilitate expenses for foreigners during their time in Taiwan.
The DPP said it would not lower the quotas on Chinese tourists allowed entry, but is looking into increasing the ratio of Chinese tourists on free independent travel programs or quality groups in the hope of alleviating the crowds of Chinese tour groups clogging up tourist hotspots.
Additional report by Su Fang-ho
US President Donald Trump said "it’s up to" Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) what China does on Taiwan, but that he would be "very unhappy" with a change in the "status quo," the New York Times said in an interview published yesterday. Xi "considers it to be a part of China, and that’s up to him what he’s going to be doing," Trump told the newspaper on Wednesday. "But I’ve expressed to him that I would be very unhappy if he did that, and I don’t think he’ll do that," he added. "I hope he doesn’t do that." Trump made the comments in
NOT AN OPENING: Trump’s violation of international law does not affect China’s consideration in attacking Taiwan; Beijing lacks capability, not precedent, an official said Taiwanese officials see the US’ capture of the president of Venezuela as a powerful deterrent to Beijing’s aggression and a timely reminder of the US’ ability to defeat militaries equipped with Chinese-made weapons. The strikes that toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro signaled to authoritarian leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), US President Donald Trump’s willingness to use military might for international affairs core to US interests, one senior official in Taipei’s security circle said. That reassured Taiwan, the person said. Taipei has also dismissed the idea that Trump’s apparent violation of international law could embolden Beijing, said the official, who was not
A cold surge advisory was today issued for 18 cities and counties across Taiwan, with temperatures of below 10°C forecast during the day and into tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. New Taipei City, Taipei, Taoyuan and Hsinchu, Miaoli and Yilan counties are expected to experience sustained temperatures of 10°C or lower, the CWA said. Temperatures are likely to temporarily drop below 10°C in most other areas, except Taitung, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, CWA data showed. The cold weather is being caused by a strong continental cold air mass, combined with radiative cooling, a process in which heat escapes from
Snow this morning fell on Alishan for the first time in seven years, as a strong continental cold air mass sent temperatures plunging across Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The Alishan weather station, located at an elevation of about 2,200m in central Taiwan, recorded snowfall from 8:55am to 9:15am, when the temperature dropped to about 1°C, the CWA said. With increased moisture and low temperatures in the high-altitude Alishan area, the conditions were favorable for snow, CWA forecaster Tsai Yi-chi (蔡伊其) said. The last time snow fell at the Alishan weather station was on Jan. 10, 2018, while graupel fell there
RSS