The government aims to increase visitors to the nation from countries targeted by the New Southbound Policy by 200,000 annually starting next year, sources said on Sunday.
Visitors from these countries are expected to reach nearly 2.8 million people this year, sources said.
The government this year has funded internships in countries covered by the policy for 2,000 Taiwanese post-secondary students and plans to subsidize 2,500 students next year, they said.
The government is assisting businesses with the transition to South and Southeast Asian markets, with a focus on cosmetics and beauty products, as well as medical and food products, they said, adding that some businesses are opening stores in these countries, while others are expanding through online retail platforms.
Last year, there were 11.06 million international visitors to Taiwan — the fourth year in a row with more than 10 million international visitors, government statistics showed.
The increase in the number of visitors from New Southbound Policy countries has made up for a decrease in Chinese tourists that began in 2016, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations said.
Last year, there were 816,000 fewer Chinese visitors than in 2016, but the number of South Asian and Southeast Asian visitors grew by 805,000 over the period, reaching an annual high of 2.59 million people, it said.
The growth in the tourism markets represented by the 18 target countries is slowly making them the mainstay of Taiwan’s tourism industry, the office said.
This year has already seen a 4.99 percent increase in visitors from those markets and combined they represent 21.7 percent of all visitors, it said.
The government estimates that the total number of visitors from those countries might reach 2.8 million for the full year, sources said.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said it would promote the establishment of “overseas medical consultation companies” to help with the export of medical equipment to the 18 countries, with a goal to build hospitals, sources said.
However, continued investment in the region would rely on funding from the Executive Yuan, they said.
DEEPER REVIEW: After receiving 19 hospital reports of suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health applied for an epidemiological investigation A buffet restaurant in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) is to be fined NT$3 million (US$91,233) after it remained opened despite an order to suspend operations following reports that 32 people had been treated for suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. The health department said it on Tuesday received reports from hospitals of people who had suspected food poisoning symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea, after they ate at an INPARADISE (饗饗) branch in Breeze Xinyi on Sunday and Monday. As more than six people who ate at the restaurant sought medical treatment, the department ordered the
A strong continental cold air mass and abundant moisture bringing snow to mountains 3,000m and higher over the past few days are a reminder that more than 60 years ago Taiwan had an outdoor ski resort that gradually disappeared in part due to climate change. On Oct. 24, 2021, the National Development Council posted a series of photographs on Facebook recounting the days when Taiwan had a ski resort on Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County. More than 60 years ago, when developing a branch of the Central Cross-Island Highway, the government discovered that Hehuanshan, with an elevation of more than 3,100m,
Taiwan’s population last year shrank further and births continued to decline to a yearly low, the Ministry of the Interior announced today. The ministry published the 2024 population demographics statistics, highlighting record lows in births and bringing attention to Taiwan’s aging population. The nation’s population last year stood at 23,400,220, a decrease of 20,222 individuals compared to 2023. Last year, there were 134,856 births, representing a crude birth rate of 5.76 per 1,000 people, a slight decline from 2023’s 135,571 births and 5.81 crude birth rate. This decrease of 715 births resulted in a new record low per the ministry’s data. Since 2016, which saw
SECURITY: To protect the nation’s Internet cables, the navy should use buoys marking waters within 50m of them as a restricted zone, a former navy squadron commander said A Chinese cargo ship repeatedly intruded into Taiwan’s contiguous and sovereign waters for three months before allegedly damaging an undersea Internet cable off Kaohsiung, a Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) investigation revealed. Using publicly available information, the Liberty Times was able to reconstruct the Shunxing-39’s movements near Taiwan since Double Ten National Day last year. Taiwanese officials did not respond to the freighter’s intrusions until Friday last week, when the ship, registered in Cameroon and Tanzania, turned off its automatic identification system shortly before damage was inflicted to a key cable linking Taiwan to the rest of
RSS