Visitor numbers from countries targeted by the government’s “new southbound policy” showed double-digit growth since its introduction in September, boding well for the future of the tourism industry, which has been suffering from a decline in the number of Chinese tourists, the Office of Trade Negotiations said in a statement yesterday.
Figures for the January to October period showed 47.1 percent year-on-year growth in tourist arrivals from Thailand, 24.3 percent in the number from Vietnam and 18.8 percent from the Philippines, the office said.
Tourism Bureau statistics also showed that October visitor arrivals from South and Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand grew 25.4 percent year-on-year to 166,931, the office said.
This growth came despite a decline in tourist numbers of 8.75 percent from other parts of the world and proves that the strategy is reaping rewards in the tourism sector, the office said, adding that the number of visitors from the south is expected to increase.
The new southbound policy was introcuded by the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to foster relations with Taiwan’s southern neighbors.
So far, 15 of the 18 target countries included in the plan have reported year-on-year growth in the number of travelers to Taiwan in October, according to the Tourism Bureau data.
Cambodia reported the highest increase of 87.8 percent, followed by Vietnam with 73.7 percent, Thailand with 73.3 percent and Brunei with 68.3 percent, statistics showed.
The office said that since the policy was implemented in September, the government has taken several effective steps to boost tourism from the target countries, including granting conditional visa-free status granted to citizens of Thailand, Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos.
In October, at a meeting of the Committee on Global Economic and Trade Strategies, Premier Lin Chuan (林全), hailed the policy as mutually beneficial for the countries involved.
He was quoted as saying that cooperation between the countries would create ties unlikely to be affected by political changes in target nations.
It would further facilitate the signing of bilateral investment protection agreements to better safeguard investments and economic activities of overseas Taiwanese businesses, he said.
With the implementation of the policy, Taiwan is seeking to make up for declining numbers of tourists from China and to establish less dependent bilateral relationships.
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