The government’s relaxation of regulations for Thai visitors — who no longer need entry visas — has stirred interest and could nearly double Thai visitor arrivals to about 360,000 next year, the Thai Travel Agents Association said.
Last year, 195,640 Thais visited the nation, slightly higher than Taipei’s prediction of 180,000, and the association attributed the growth to the visa-free policy.
Thai visitor growth was particularly strong in the fourth quarter of last year, with the number increasing 85 percent year-on-year.
The visa-free program took effect in August last year.
Thais and Bruneians have been granted visa-free travel as part of the “new southbound policy” that seeks to bolster the nation’s relations with Southeast Asia.
Association vice president Adith Chairattananon said that his group was optimistic that Thai visitors numbers would increase again this year, and would do its best to promote Taiwan as a travel destination.
About 120 travel agencies attended a conference to promote travel in Taiwan in Bangkok on Friday, 20 more than expected, the association said.
Typically only 50 to 60 companies attended similar conferences, the association said.
Adith said he was confident that as long as visa-free travel is allowed and if airlines provide more flights, the number of Thai arrivals in Taiwan could reach 360,000 this year.
Many Thais are interested in the nation’s New Year’s Eve countdown parties, especially at the Taipei 101 building, Adith said.
More than 500 Thai tourists took chartered flights for last year’s New Year’s Eve countdown in Taipei, Adith said, adding that he believed other countdown parties around Taiwan could also attract more visitors.
The “new southbound policy” is a Democratic Progressive Party initiative to develop closer ties with ASEAN and India.
The DPP government, which took office in May last year, hopes the policy will diversify investment and trade so that the nation is less economically dependent on China, including in the tourism sector.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it