The industry’s bleak outlook on tourism from Southeast Asia and its perceived inability to fill the gap left by a decline in Chinese visitors could be mere pessimism, analysts said citing the results of a Tourism Bureau report on foreign exchange generated by visitors from Southeast Asia.
The report, released on Monday last week, showed that the 18 nations in Southeast Asia last year generated NT$2.81 billion (US$93.79 million at the current exchange rate) in foreign exchange income, surpassing Japan to become Taiwan’s second-largest foreign tourism market.
These statistics suggest that President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) New Southbound Policy has been a success over the past two years, the bureau said.
Many in the tourism industry felt that while Southeast Asian tourists were filling the hole left by Chinese tourists with their numbers, they were not helping generate foreign exchange, the bureau said.
Tourists from Southeast Asia typically stay for 8.1 nights and spend an average of US$152 a day, compared with Chinese tourists who stay for 7.3 nights with a daily expenditure of US$184, the bureau said, adding that Chinese tourists spent a total of NT$3.6 billion in Taiwan last year.
However, Southeast Asian tourists coming for “pure tourism” spend more on average compared with their Chinese counterparts, the bureau said, adding that about 60 percent of Southeast Asian tourists come for “pure tourism,” compared with 70 percent of Chinese.
Southeast Asian tourists in this category average a seven-night stay and more than US$200 in daily expenditure, spending on average US$60 on hotel expenses and US$30 on food, the bureau said, adding that they also spend on average US$70 on souvenirs and other accessories.
Daily expenditure for Chinese tourists in this category stands at US$188, and they spend roughly half of what Southeast Asians spend on their room and board, the bureau said.
Tourism from Southeast Asia grew 30 percent per month from the beginning of last year, and this year could possibly see another 600,000 tourists from Southeast Asia, said Hwang Cheng-tsung (黃正聰), an associate professor at Providence University’s Department of Tourism.
It is highly likely that Southeast Asian tourists could replace Chinese tourists, Hwang said, adding that the future holds great promise as Taiwan has yet to establish tourism-related offices in Vietnam and Indonesia, or offer these nations visa-waiver programs.
In response to complaints that the “boom” in the tourism industry has yet to be felt in central and southern Taiwan, bureau Deputy Director-General Chang Shi-tsung (張錫聰) said that tourists from a new market usually visit the capital of a nation first, then explore further a few years later.
The bureau is implementing plans to encourage Southeast Asian tourists to visit central and southern regions, such as prioritizing bids from cities in those areas to host activities, such as the Taiwan-Japan Tourism Summit and the Taiwan-Korea Tourism Forum, Chang said.
The bureau is also trying urge the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and other nations to join the Asia Cruise Fund, which was launched by the bureau and Hong Kong’s Tourism Board, Chang said.
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