Taiwan and Hong Kong yesterday launched a multi-destination tour campaign in New York in a bid to attract more visitors from the US and Canada.
Tourism Bureau Deputy Director-General Wayne Liu (劉喜臨) said that Taiwan has seen a continual increase in tourists from the US.
He said that half of Canadian travelers entering Taiwan in the past four years came for tourism, which tops travelers from other long-distance tourism markets.
This shows that an increasing number of travelers from the US and Canada are interested in visiting Taiwan, Liu said.
Liu said tourists from these two countries often spend eight to 10 days traveling in Asia. The increase in flights among Taiwan, North America and Hong Kong will facilitate the development of multi-destination tours, Liu said, adding that the resources of Taiwan and Hong Kong could be combined and rearranged to generate maximum effect.
“We are confident that the partnership could enhance the competitive edges of Taiwan and Hong Kon compared with other travel destinations in Asia and become the top choices for tourists from North America,” Liu said.
Hong Kong Travel Board Executive Director Anthony Lau (劉鎮漢) said the board’s survey shows that 92 percent of US tourists in Hong Kong would visit other nearby destinations as well, whereas 94 percent of the Canadian tourists would travel to other places after their stay in Hong Kong. As an increasing number of people hope to get the most out of every trip, multi-destination tours are growing in popularity, he said.
Statistics from the Tourism Bureau show the number of the US travelers visiting Taiwan and Hong Kong grew by 4.5 percent last year.
The number is forecast to rise by 6.5 percent.
The number of Canadian visitors is forecast to rise by 11 percent this year, the bureau said.
Meanwhile, the bureau said that people have no problem traveling between Taiwan and Hong Kong, having more than 60 flights available daily. The air travel time is only 80 minutes, which is aid the development of multi-destination tours, it added.
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