Passenger volumes at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport showed double-digit growth in the first half of the year, faring better than other major airports in East and Southeast Asia.
Statistics from Taoyuan International Airport Corp showed that 16.68 million visitors used the airport from January to last month, up 13 percent from the same time last year. Passenger volume in May alone grew 21.74 percent compared with the same month last year, the highest among the past six months.
The airport operator said the dramatic increase in passenger numbers in May — a low season for travel — was due to the popularity of budget airlines and marketing campaigns launched by travel agencies and airline companies.
Because of these two factors, the number of outbound passengers rose 24.7 percent, with the top three travel destinations for Taiwanese tourists being Japan, China and Hong Kong.
Taiwanese visitors to Japan climbed almost 42 percent, the company said.
Inbound and transit passengers at Taoyuan airport expanded 21.31 percent and 5.47 percent respectively, with a majority of them arriving from China and Japan, as well as Hong Kong and Macau.
The number of Chinese tourists arriving through the free independent traveler program exceeded 500,000 in the past six months, marking a 100 percent increase from the same period last year.
The company said it has initiated a series of measures starting this month to cope with the rise in passengers, including increasing the number of cleaners for the airport’s restrooms as well as expanding safety inspection areas.
The airport operator said it plans to expand the service area in Terminal Two, with the construction expected to be completed within two years.
Passenger volumes at Taoyuan airport could reach 34 million this year, the company said.
Elsewhere, the number of passengers using Changi airport in Singapore and Narita airport in Japan grew 1.76 percent and 5.61 percent respectively between January and May.
Passengers using Hong Kong’s Chek Lap Kok airport and Incheon airport in South Korea were up by 6.3 percent and 7.8 percent respectively.
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