The inbound tourism revenue topped US$12.32 billion last year, registering an increase of 4.7 percent compared with 2012, according to a survey from the Tourism Bureau yesterday.
Statistics from the Ministry of the Interior showed that the nation had a total of 8.02 million inbound tourists last year.
Its report showed China and Japan remained two main sources of overseas tourists last year. The number of Chinese tourists reached 2.87 million last year, growing by 2.87 percent compared with 2012. Japanese tourists dropped by 0.75 percent to 1.42 million last year.
The two contributed US$5.531 billion and US$1.818 billion respectively to tourism revenue.
The survey also found that each international tourist last year spent an average of US$224 per day, covering expenses for accommodation, transportation, shopping and other charges.
Japanese tourists topped others by spending an average of US$265.29 daily per person. Chinese tourists were ranked second, with each spending US$259.64 per day on average.
When examining the money spent daily on shopping alone, Chinese tourists far exceeded tourists from other countries by spending US$142.57 per person. Japanese tourists spent US$62.76 per person, second highest in the category.
However, the bureau said the average daily expenditure per person last year dropped by 4.37 percent compared with 2012. The decrease was shown among inbound tourists from Japan and China.
Apart from Japan and China, the average daily expenditure among tourists from other countries all showed positive growth, the bureau said.
The bureau said the satisfaction rate of international tourists in their travel experiences in the nation was 95 percent, which was about the same as 2012. Chinese tourists reported the highest satisfaction rate of 97.3 percent, whereas travelers from South Korea reported the lowest satisfaction rate of 89.96 percent.
Commenting on the fact that South Korean tourists were least satisfied with their tours in Taiwan in both 2012 and last year, the bureau said some South Korean tourists complained that many signs and guided tours in Taiwan do not have Korean-language options.
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