Taiwan’s tourism industry has indirectly benefited from worsening relations between Japan and South Korea, Taiwan Tourism Development Association vice president Ko Mu-chou (柯牧洲) said, while another industry source said that the effects would be limited.
If Taiwan is able to grasp the opportunity, in addition to the steady growth in visitor arrivals from Japan and South Korea in the second half of the year, it could see arrivals from those two nations increase by an additional 5 percent, Ko said.
Due to reports of violence in Hong Kong, many Japanese student groups that were originally going on exchange trips to Hong Kong have instead come to Taiwan, he said.
However, as the hotel sector is entering its peak season, it might be difficult for hotels to accommodate groups of more than 300, he said.
Many South Korean tour groups have recently changed their destinations from Japan to Taiwan due to the trade dispute between Japan and South Korea, said a travel agent who has worked with Japanese and South Korean clients for several years.
However, the number of groups that have done so has not been as high as expected, primarily because over the past few years Taiwan’s tourism market has not changed, said the agent, who asked not to be named.
Over the past decade, no new attractions have rivalled the National Palace Museum or Taipei 101, the agent said.
While the dispute would benefit the tourism sector in the short term, the long-term effects would still depend on demand and whether Taiwan appeals to travelers, they said.
Without a new “product,” Taiwan cannot attract visitors, the agent said, adding that Japanese and South Korean travelers have options other than Taiwan.
The government should focus on telling visitors what they can do in Taiwan and developing new attractions and infrastructure.
China on Wednesday announced that it was suspending a program that allowed individual tourists from 47 Chinese cities to travel to Taiwan, citing the current state of relations between the two sides.
Chinese nationals may only travel to Taiwan as tourists if they are part of tour groups, the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism said in a statement.
The Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union yesterday vowed to protest at the EVA Air Marathon on Sunday next week should EVA Airway Corp’s management continue to ignore the union’s petition to change rules on employees’ leave of absence system, after a flight attendant reportedly died after working on a long-haul flight while ill. The case has generated public discussion over whether taking personal or sick leave should affect a worker’s performance review. Several union members yesterday protested at the Legislative Yuan, holding white flowers and placards, while shouting: “Life is priceless; requesting leave is not a crime.” “The union is scheduled to meet with
‘UNITED FRONT’ RHETORIC: China’s TAO also plans to hold weekly, instead of biweekly, news conferences because it wants to control the cross-strait discourse, an expert said China’s plan to expand its single-entry visa-on-arrival service to Taiwanese would be of limited interest to Taiwanese and is a feeble attempt by Chinese administrators to demonstrate that they are doing something, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said the program aims to facilitate travel to China for Taiwanese compatriots, regardless of whether they are arriving via direct flights or are entering mainland China through Hong Kong, Macau or other countries, and they would be able to apply for a single-entry visa-on-arrival at all eligible entry points in China. The policy aims
Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung and Taoyuan would issue a decision at 8pm on whether to cancel work and school tomorrow due to forecasted heavy rain, Keelung Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) said today. Hsieh told reporters that absent some pressing reason, the four northern cities would announce the decision jointly at 8pm. Keelung is expected to receive between 300mm and 490mm of rain in the period from 2pm today through 2pm tomorrow, Central Weather Administration data showed. Keelung City Government regulations stipulate that school and work can be canceled if rain totals in mountainous or low-elevation areas are forecast to exceed 350mm in
EVA Airways president Sun Chia-ming (孫嘉明) and other senior executives yesterday bowed in apology over the death of a flight attendant, saying the company has begun improving its health-reporting, review and work coordination mechanisms. “We promise to handle this matter with the utmost responsibility to ensure safer and healthier working conditions for all EVA Air employees,” Sun said. The flight attendant, a woman surnamed Sun (孫), died on Friday last week of undisclosed causes shortly after returning from a work assignment in Milan, Italy, the airline said. Chinese-language media reported that the woman fell ill working on a Taipei-to-Milan flight on Sept. 22
RSS