Foreign tourist arrivals have risen 40 percent since Taiwan removed border controls in October last year, led by travelers from South Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia, travel e-commerce platform KKday said yesterday.
South Koreans topped the ranking of inbound tourists, followed by travelers from Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Malaysia, KKday said.
The findings were in line with Taiwan’s bid to attract 6 million foreign tourists this year and return to pre-COVID-19-pandemic levels next year.
Photo: CNA
As of Sunday, 1.85 million tourists had arrived in Taiwan this year, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications told a legislative hearing yesterday.
That number might reach 2 million by the end of this month after Taiwan downgraded COVID-19 and made travel into the country easier, it added.
The ministry has offered NT$5,000 worth of travel subsidies for 500,000 free independent tours and 90,000 group tours to attract foreign visitors, it said.
It was closely monitoring the target and would introduce more stimulus measures, if necessary.
The bulk of foreign tourists, 70 percent, visited Taipei and New Taipei City, followed by Taichung, Kaohsiung and Tainan, KKday said.
The destination survey showed that the Taipei 101 Observatory and the National Palace Museum were the top two tourist attractions, followed by New Taipei City’s Jioufen Township (九份), Hualien County’s Taroko Gorge (太魯閣) and the Alishan National Forest Recreation Area (阿里山國家森林遊樂區) in Chiayi County, it said.
Nantou County’s mountainous areas and beaches in Pingtung County’s Kenting National Park (墾丁國家公園) also ranked high.
Inbound tourists’ travel focus differs based on nationality, with South Koreans seeking out Taiwanese cuisine, while Japanese travelers consider Jioufen a must-visit destination, KKday said.
Tourists from Hong Kong and Macau like to travel as much as possible during their visits, but those from Singapore top the list for spending, it said.
Transportation is among the most in-demand services among foreign tourists, as they need high-speed rail tickets, car rentals and one-day or multiday tours to reach New Taipei City’s coastal areas, Nantou County’s Cingjing Farm (清境農場), Taroko Gorge or Alishan, KKday said.
Unique experiences, hot springs, lighting sky lanterns and do-it-yourself bakery activities also rank high on the itinerary of foreign tourists, it said.
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday met with some of the nation’s largest insurance companies as a skyrocketing New Taiwan dollar piles pressure on their hundreds of billions of dollars in US bond investments. The commission has asked some life insurance firms, among the biggest Asian holders of US debt, to discuss how the rapidly strengthening NT dollar has impacted their operations, people familiar with the matter said. The meeting took place as the NT dollar jumped as much as 5 percent yesterday, its biggest intraday gain in more than three decades. The local currency surged as exporters rushed to
RSS