Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet.
The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10.
A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate.
.Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls and bustling night markets as two popular destinations for food enthusiasts.
Aside from bubble tea, pineapple cakes and the Taipei 101 skyscraper, tourists can explore Yangmingshan National Park and the hot springs in Beitou (北投) when in Taipei, it said.
US tourists can travel to Taiwan on flights provided by Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, as well as three major Taiwanese airlines — China Airlines Ltd (中華航空), EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) and Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空), the company said.
EVA Airways and China Airlines offer direct flights to Taipei from several airports in the US, including John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, it said.
The recommendation is good news for the tourism industry, Tourism Administration Director-General Chou Yung-hui (周永暉) said, adding that the agency sees positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe.
“It shows that we need to continue to promote various tours for groups and individual travelers to Taiwan. We also need to speed up the development of low-carbon tours,” Chou said.
“We understand, of course, that incentives can still be attractive for tourists. While we would continue to support group tours with reasonable incentives, we propose that ‘Taiwan the Lucky Land’ [金福氣活動], an event that offers NT$5,000 for independent travelers through a free draw, would also continue until Sept. 30. Hopefully this event and discounts available for Taiwan Pass holders would continue to encourage tourists to visit Taiwan in the next six months,” Chou said.
Individual travelers from overseas are qualified for the free draw if they enter on a non-Taiwan passport and stay for three days to three months.
The incentive was originally scheduled to end on June 30, the agency said.
Tour groups from overseas that comprise at least four people and are to spend at least three days in Taiwan could receive NT$5,000 to NT$50,000 as an incentive.
The deadline for the incentive would be extended from June 30 to the end of November, the agency said.
A signaling system malfunction disrupted high-speed rail (HSR) services beginning at 8am today, with trains temporarily reduced to three northbound and three southbound trains per hour as authorities conduct inspections. The malfunction occurred on a section of track in Miaoli County during pre-operation checks early this morning, forcing northbound and southbound trains to use a single track, the HSR operator said. The regular schedule has been replaced with three hourly trains offering only nonreserved seating in each direction, stopping at every station, it said, adding that business class cars would still have reserved seating. Departures from terminal stations are scheduled at the top
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
Taiwan is still in the process of assessing the possibility of recruiting workers from Eswatini, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, adding that its goal is to help Eswatini upgrade its vocational training centers. If there are plans to recruit workers from Eswatini, safeguarding national security, protecting public health and ensuring the employment rights of Taiwanese would be prerequisites, Department of West Asian and African Affairs Director-General Yen Chia-liang (顏嘉良) told a news conference. Key considerations would also include filling labor shortages in specific industries, and fostering bilateral professional and technical exchanges, he said. Yen was asked about the progress of labor
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
RSS