A COVID-19 outbreak is battering the tourism industry to a greater extent than it was last year, so more relief and subsidy measures are necessary to avoid a massive collapse, operators have said.
Formosa International Hotels Group (晶華酒店集團) chairman Steve Pan (潘思亮) said that more than half of Taiwan’s hotels might go out of business in two to three months if the government does not help promptly.
“Taiwan’s tourism sectors are on the brink of collapse, and need relief and subsidy programs that are much stronger than last year’s to weather the pains of the spiraling virus outbreak,” Pan said.
Taiwan is in a state of voluntary lockdown as people stay at home to avoid infections, bringing consumer activity to a sudden halt, he said, adding that a nationwide level 3 alert requiring the temporary closure of movie theaters, fitness centers, spas, dine-in services and other entertainment facilities was also a factor.
The H2O Hotel (水京棧國際酒店) in Kaohsiung yesterday announced a temporary closure, effective immediately until June 14, to avoid exposing staff to risk.
The hotel said that it had been selling 600 to 700 boxed meals a day, but takeout services still required interactions between people.
Lion Travel Service Co (雄獅旅遊), which last year reported losses of NT$5.9 per share, posted a NT$115 million loss in the first quarter and said that the amoung could widen this quarter and beyond after it canceled domestic tours this month to comply with the government restrictions.
The government last year provided a 40 percent wage subsidy for tour companies, restaurants and hotels that maintained normal operations and offered staff vocational training.
Subsidies of 75 to 80 percent are necessary this time, because the outbreak is wreaking greater havoc, Pan said.
KTV chains Holiday Entertainment Co (好樂迪) and Cash Box KTV (錢櫃) have suspended business until the level 3 alert ends, expected on June 14.
However, the outbreak might persist for three months, as happened in Singapore and Hong Kong, Pan said, adding that the US and European countries implemented generous relief packages to help affected sectors.
Hotel Association of Yilan chairman Chang Fang-ming (張芳鳴) said that 40 hotels in the county had halted operations and the number would climb, as occupancy is lower than 10 percent.
Temporary shutdowns are cheaper under these circumstances, Chang said.
About 50 hotels in Hualien County have partially or fully shut to cope with a freeze in business.
The government should grant tax breaks of 18 to 24 months, and cut rent for hotels on state-owned land, Pan said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, booked its first-ever profit from its Arizona subsidiary in the first half of this year, four years after operations began, a company financial statement showed. Wholly owned by TSMC, the Arizona unit contributed NT$4.52 billion (US$150.1 million) in net profit, compared with a loss of NT$4.34 billion a year earlier, the statement showed. The company attributed the turnaround to strong market demand and high factory utilization. The Arizona unit counts Apple Inc, Nvidia Corp and Advanced Micro Devices Inc among its major customers. The firm’s first fab in Arizona began high-volume production
VOTE OF CONFIDENCE: The Japanese company is adding Intel to an investment portfolio that includes artificial intelligence linchpins Nvidia Corp and TSMC Softbank Group Corp agreed to buy US$2 billion of Intel Corp stock, a surprise deal to shore up a struggling US name while boosting its own chip ambitions. The Japanese company, which is adding Intel to an investment portfolio that includes artificial intelligence (AI) linchpins Nvidia Corp and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), is to pay US$23 a share — a small discount to Intel’s last close. Shares of the US chipmaker, which would issue new stock to Softbank, surged more than 5 percent in after-hours trading. Softbank’s stock fell as much as 5.4 percent on Tuesday in Tokyo, its
COLLABORATION: Softbank would supply manufacturing gear to the factory, and a joint venture would make AI data center equipment, Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) would operate a US factory owned by Softbank Group Corp, setting up what is in the running to be the first manufacturing site in the Japanese company’s US$500 billion Stargate venture with OpenAI and Oracle Corp. Softbank is acquiring Hon Hai’s electric-vehicle plant in Ohio, but the Taiwanese company would continue to run the complex after turning it into an artificial intelligence (AI) server production plant, Hon Hai chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said yesterday. Softbank would supply manufacturing gear to the factory, and a joint venture between the two companies would make AI data
DOLLAR SIGNS: The central bank rejected claims that the NT dollar had appreciated 10 percentage points more than the yen or the won against the greenback The New Taiwan dollar yesterday fell for a sixth day to its weakest level in three months, driven by equity-related outflows and reactions to an economics official’s exchange rate remarks. The NT dollar slid NT$0.197, or 0.65 percent, to close at NT$30.505 per US dollar, central bank data showed. The local currency has depreciated 1.97 percent so far this month, ranking as the weakest performer among Asian currencies. Dealers attributed the retreat to foreign investors wiring capital gains and dividends abroad after taking profit in local shares. They also pointed to reports that Washington might consider taking equity stakes in chipmakers, including Taiwan Semiconductor
RSS