Taiwanese and Chinese airlines will offer discounts averaging 50 percent on air fares to Taiwanese businesspeople in China who are returning to Taiwan for the Lunar New Year holiday or to vote in January’s presidential election.
The Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland, a Taiwanese business association in China, said on Friday it has reached an agreement with airlines across the Taiwan Strait to provide the discount.
Airlines will offer the cheaper tickets to Taiwanese businesspeople and their families in China for flights from Jan. 1 to Feb. 15.
Under the agreement, those who purchase one round-trip ticket will be able to save between 200 yuan and 500 yuan (US$31 and US$78), while those who buy two round-trip tickets can save an average of 50 percent.
Passengers from some regions can even save more than 50 percent.
The average price for a regular round-trip ticket between Shanghai and Taipei on Lunar New Year’s Eve, which falls on Jan. 22 next year, is between 4,500 yuan and 5,730 yuan, but discounted tickets will be available for between 2,000 yuan and 2,300 yuan.
Next year’s presidential election will be held simultaneously with the legislative elections on Jan. 14.
Yeh Hui-te (葉惠德), a spokesman for the Taiwanese business association, encouraged more Taiwanese to return to vote to show their concern for their homeland.
He said that Taiwanese businesspeople and their families could inquire about buying tickets at the association’s branch offices in China after Oct. 10.
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