The Tourism Bureau yesterday celebrated the arrival of the year’s 2 millionth Japanese tourist, who arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon.
It was the first time the nation reached the 2 million milestone for Japanese visitors.
The visitor, Ayako Mizoguchi, arrived at the airport from Kagoshima on Japan’s Kyushu island, the bureau said.
Photo courtesy of the Tourism Bureau
This was her first visit to Taiwan, Mizoguchi said, adding that she and four family members joined a group led by Japanese radio show host Junko Sakai.
The tour group of 47 would visit Taipei, New Taipei City’s Jiufen (九份) and Shifen (十分) and other tourist sites, the bureau said.
Mizoguchi said she was looking forward to visiting Longshan Temple (龍山寺) in Taipei, drinking pearl bubble milk tea and sampling Taiwanese dishes.
Asked why she decided to visit the nation, she said that Taiwanese are very friendly.
Although Taiwan and Japan have similar cultures, the nation still strikes her as an exotic place, she said.
The bureau presented gifts to Mizoguchi, including two international China Airlines flight tickets, a three-day High-Speed Rail pass, tickets for Kamalan Bus Inc rides and hotel coupons.
“We thank all Taiwanese for being good hosts to our visitors and our travel industry representatives for quality tours,” bureau director-general Chou Yung-hui (周永暉) said. “We reached the milestone because of your efforts.”
“As more countries around the world are developing their tourism industries, the bureau would continue to promote Taiwan as a travel destination for Japanese,” Chou said.
The bureau aims to set a new record for Japanese visits next year and has produced a commercial to be aired in Japan, it said.
From Jan. 1, Japanese passport holders entering via Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), Kaohsiung International Airport or Taoyuan airport would be given a set of beer glasses featuring a milk tea logo when they stop at the airports’ travelers’ information centers, it said.
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