The number of tourists from Australia, New Zealand and Southeast and South Asian nations in November last year rose 23 percent from a year earlier, which the Cabinet attributed to the government’s “new southbound policy.”
The Cabinet on Friday said that 195,419 tourists came in November last year from the 18 nations targeted by the policy.
The number of tourists from all the nations targeted by the policy, except Nepal, increased in the month, with arrivals from Cambodia, Bangladesh, Thailand and Vietnam increasing by more than 90 percent from a year earlier, the Cabinet said.
From January to November last year, the number of tourists coming from Cambodia rose 85.4 percent annually to 3,111; arrivals from Thailand grew 52.1 percent to 164,021; tourists from Brunei rose 51.2 percent to 3,795; and visitors from India grew 38.2 percent to 30,986, the Cabinet said.
Taiwan welcomed 9.65 million tourists in the same period, up 2.5 percent from a year earlier, it said.
Arrivals from the nations targeted by the policy grew 13.6 percent annually to 1.53 million, the Cabinet said.
The policy seeks to promote relations with Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Australia and New Zealand.
Taiwan is seeking to diversify its tourism sources as the number of Chinese visitors has been falling amid strained relations with Beijing.
Cross-strait ties have cooled since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office in May last year, mainly due to her refusal to recognize the so-called “1992 consensus” as the sole political foundation for cross-strait exchanges.
The “1992 consensus” — a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted making up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Beijing government that both sides acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
From January last year to Tuesday last week, the number of Chinese tourists declined 18.5 percent annually, with the number of Chinese visitors in tours falling 29.9 percent, according to government figures.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS