The number of Japanese visiors to Taiwan this year had exceeded 1 million as of last month, up by almost 50 percent compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday.
Despite a weak yen, the increase in Japanese visitors will continue, as it is currently the peak season for international visitors, the agency said.
The number of Japanese visitors could reach a record-high in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era, it said.
Photo: Chiang Ying-ying, AP
The agency attributed the increase in Japanese tourists to diverse marketing strategies to attract tour groups and individual tourists.
Since last year, the agency has partnered with the Japan Association of Travel Agents to host a sky lantern event in New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪), it said.
More than 1,000 Japanese participated in the event last month, which went viral on the Internet, it said.
It collaborated with the Taipei 101 administration to jointly market a non-profit baseball exhibition at the building’s observation deck featuring LA Dodgers slugger Shohei Ohtani’s “50-50 commemorative ball” and the building’s tuned mass damper. Many Japanese tour groups have included the exhibition, which opened yesterday, in their itinerary, it said.
The ball, which celebrates Ohtani’s achievement of hitting 50 home runs and stealing 50 bases in one MLB season, was bought by Taipei-based UC Capital and was lent to Taipei 101 for display free of charge.
The administration said that it worked with Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp to offer Japanese visitors buy-one-get-one deals.
It has also invited Japanese actor Satoshi Tsumabuki to be a tourism ambassador and introduce tourist attractions to Japanese visitors, the agency said.
The agency said it has produced commercials to be aired on mainstream Japanese television networks.
Meanwhile, frequent visitors would be eligible for a free draw for a travel fund of NT$5,000, the agency said, adding that more subsidies would be provided to tour groups.
As of Tuesday, the nation had attracted 6.49 million international travelers this year.
To provide international travelers with more information, the agency is to establish new representative offices in Manila by the end of this year, and Sydney and Amsterdam next year, it said.
The Taiwanese passport ranked 33rd in a global listing of passports by convenience this month, rising three places from last month’s ranking, but matching its position in January last year. The Henley Passport Index, an international ranking of passports by the number of designations its holder can travel to without a visa, showed that the Taiwan passport enables holders to travel to 139 countries and territories without a visa. Singapore’s passport was ranked the most powerful with visa-free access to 192 destinations out of 227, according to the index published on Tuesday by UK-based migration investment consultancy firm Henley and Partners. Japan’s and
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