Premier Lin Chuan (林全) on Thursday directed the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to take measures to improve the safety and quality of travel services in the wake of a tour bus fire that killed 26 people, including 24 Chinese tourists.
After a report by the ministry at a weekly Cabinet meeting, Lin said the July 19 incident reflected possible problems in the nation’s tourism industry, according to Cabinet spokesman Tung Chen-yuan (童振源).
Lin asked the ministry to find ways to expand the scope of Chinese tourism visits, encourage travel agencies to develop in-depth and refined tour packages, set reasonable tour fees to balance the interests of all stakeholders in the industry, and improve the treatment of employees.
At a news conference after the meeting, Minister of Transportation and Communications Hochen Tan (賀陳旦) said that although Chinese are allowed to travel independently in Taiwan, they prefer package tours, such as eight-day, seven-night, nationwide tours.
Package tours tend to have a tight itinerary and rely on the services of a single bus driver, which can lead to fatigue in the driver and reduce opportunities for visitors to explore attractions in depth, Hochen said.
He said expanding the scope of the tours would improve the use of airports and allow Chinese tourists to take a deeper look into places of interest in Taiwan, adding that the ministry would guide travel agencies toward developing such packages in the next two months.
He said the ministry has worked out measures to be implemented immediately regarding tour bus safety, as well as near, middle and long-term targets.
Measures to be implemented immediately include improving road checks, preventing drunk driving, providing incentives for travel agencies to rent tour buses operated by reputable companies, requiring tour groups to conduct emergency escape drills and upgrading the mechanism for reporting major incidents, he said.
Measures for the near term are to be implemented within three months, he said.
These include disclosing the names of poor-performing tour bus operators and requiring all large commercial passenger vehicles to present maintenance records at regular inspections.
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