The Ministry of Transportation and Communications would on July 1 begin promoting the second phase of “disease prevention tours,” Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday, after the Central Epidemic Command Center on Tuesday announced that it would lift many restrictions on June 7.
Details of the tours would be unveiled in a week, Lin said.
Lin made the announcement at a news conference for the launch of the first phase of the tours, which are expected to see the participation of about 300,000 tourism industry representatives.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, received a hero’s welcome at the news conference.
The first phase of the tours, which is to last one month, was designed to ensure that people begin adopting a “new disease prevention lifestyle” to prevent them from contracting the novel coronavirus, while helping travel agencies develop new domestic tour packages and the tourism industry to begin getting customers again, Lin said.
Feedback from industry representatives about the tours would also help enhance the quality of domestic tours, he said.
The center has approved disease prevention guidelines for domestic tours proposed by the ministry, which companies and schools could use as a reference when they organize trips for employees and graduates, he added.
Taiwan each year has about 17 million outbound tourists, who are now likely to remain in the nation and go on domestic tours due to border restrictions, Lin said, adding that this would provide a strong boost to the domestic tourism market, which serves about 11 million tourists per year.
It would also prepare the nation to receive more international tourists once its borders reopen for tourism, he said.
Asked for specifics about the second phase of the tours, which would be open to all tourists, Lin said that the ministry hopes to tie it in with a stimulus coupon program proposed by the Executive Yuan.
“Businesses could throw in additional bonuses if consumers use vouchers to pay for the tours or other services,” Lin said. “We welcome and even encourage such developments, as it would provide value-added tours to tourists.”
The ministry has not canceled a plan to issue NT$500 (US$16.65) travel vouchers, which are now included in an expanded subsidy program for domestic tours that is to be implemented on July 1, he said.
The budget allocated for the program has increased from NT$2 billion to NT$3.9 billion, he added.
The second phase of the tours is expected to last about four months, Lin said, adding that as it is difficult to predict how the COVID-19 pandemic would be contained in other nations, the Cabinet has generally agreed that the time frame might be extended.
Chen said that he endorses the government’s promotion of domestic tourism, because Taiwan is a safe place to travel.
Although the center plans to start relaxing disease prevention measures on June 7, Chen said that people need to adopt a new lifestyle that prevents them from contracting COVID-19, which includes wearing masks, observing social distancing guidelines, washing their hands as frequently as possible and making sure people can be contacted if new infections are confirmed.
By cutting off people-to-people infection chains, investigating confirmed infections and treating those infected, Taiwan can mitigate the health risks caused by isolated confirmed cases after the nation’s borders are reopened, he said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it