The nation has minimized the loss in tourism revenue caused by a decrease in the number of Chinese tourists by diversifying its sources of international visitors, the Tourism Bureau said in a statement yesterday.
The bureau issued the statement after the Chinese-language Economic Daily News reported that the tourism industry suffered a loss of more than NT$55 billion (US$1.81 billion) due to the sharp decline in the number of Chinese tourists.
According to the report, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan between May last year and February dropped by 1.12 million from the same period a year earlier.
It calculated the loss in revenue by multiplying the number of lost tourists with their average daily spending of US$232.10 per person, as well as their average duration of stay, which it calculated as seven days.
The report also estimated that the number of Chinese tourists would decrease by between 1.2 million and 1.5 million this year, and the loss in revenue would reach NT$74.33 billion.
The bureau said there has been a significant decrease of Chinese tourists since May last year, adding that since Chinese tourists mainly go on shopping tours, the decline in their numbers would affect certain businesses’ revenue.
Statistics from the bureau showed that the number of tourists from nations other than China rose by 1.06 million between May last year and February.
The number of Japanese tourists rose by 16.5 percent, South Koreans by 34.25 percent, Malaysians by 9.95 percent, Thai by 57.26 percent and Vietnamese by 34.33 percent.
The bureau calculated the revenue brought by tourists from nations other than China by factoring in the average daily spending per traveler and average duration of stay last year.
Non-Chinese visitors generated NT$42.8 billion in revenue, which has minimized the losses caused by the decline in Chinese tourists, the bureau said.
To cope with the loss, the bureau said it has expanded its tourism promotions in a bid to attract independent travelers from China, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Europe and North America.
Domestic tourism operators are also encouraged to offer quality tour products, the bureau said.
“The tourism market is easily swayed by various factors, to which the industry must adjust. We will continue our efforts to attract tourists from various nations, revitalize the domestic tourism market and transform the travel industry to reduce the dependency on a single market,” the bureau added.
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