Air France yesterday resumed direct flights between Taipei and Paris.
A ceremony was held at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to celebrate the restart of the direct flight service.
The Tourism Bureau organized a performance by Techno Prince Nezha (電音三太子) at the airport, while tourism mascot Oh Bear (喔熊) greeted passengers arriving on the first flight from Paris.
Photo: Tony Yao, Taipei Times
Each passenger was given a Taiwanese teacup as a souvenir.
Air France originally launched direct flights between Taipei and Paris in 1994, but withdrew from the market in 1997 due to competition from EVA Air, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said.
Air France is to use 280-seat Boeing 777-200 aircraft to service the route, the bureau said.
Flights are to depart from Taipei on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, with flights arriving from Paris on Monday, Thursday and Saturday, it said.
France is the third-largest source of European visitors to Taiwan, following Germany and the UK, it added.
“We have seen steady growth in the number of travelers from France over the past few years, with an average annual growth rate of 10.5 percent from 2015 to last year. The prospects of the local tourism market in relation to France are positive,” the bureau said.
Air France’s re-entry into the nation’s air carrier market raised the number of flights to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport from seven to 10 per week, it said.
The direct flights from Taipei to Paris are to be code-share flights with China Airlines. The two carriers are members of airline alliance SkyTeam.
Another positive development for the tourism market from France was last month’s publication of the first Michelin Guide for restaurants in Taipei, the bureau said.
“We believe that the direct flights and the Michelin Guide will help raise the profile of Taiwan in France and attract more French tourists,” the bureau said.
The bureau said that France has been one of the target nations of its tourism campaign in Europe, adding that it has invited Elle magazine to do a report on Taiwanese cuisine.
The magazine last year published a story on tours to Penghu.
French public TV channel France 2 has reported on Taiwan’s barrier-free travel environment in its morning news program Telematin.
Separately, the CAA said Air New Zealand is to restart flights to Taiwan in November after a 13-year hiatus.
Air Canada resumed flights between Taipei and Vancouver in June last year, while United Airlines restarted flights between Taipei and San Francisco in 2014.
Those airlines had been absent in Taiwan for more than 10 years.
Emirates in 2014 launched flights between Taipei and Dubai, while Turkish Airlines in 2015 started direct flights between Taipei and Istanbul.
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