The government is allocating more than NT$13 billion (US$439.4 million) to bail out tourism companies that continue to struggle despite strong promotional measures for domestic tours, Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday.
Life Travel and Tourist Service Co, after operating for more than 30 years, on Wednesday said that it had to lay off 100 employees after its business declined by 90 percent in May because of the restrictions on international travel, a key revenue driver.
Asked if the travel agency’s downward trend was a bellwether for the travel industry in the months to come, Lin told reporters that the Executive Yuan is compiling a budget plan for a third relief fund package, which would be used to bail out businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The plan is scheduled to be reviewed by the Legislative Yuan during its extraordinary session, Lin said, adding that the government is hoping that it would be passed before the end of this month.
The funds to be allocated to travel agencies, hotels, tour service operators and businesses at international airports would partially cover the salaries of their employees from this month to September, Lin said.
“The first and second relief fund packages have proven effective in preventing many businesses from going bankrupt or laying off workers,” Lin said.
“However, as the nation still restricts the entry of international tourists and limits local residents from traveling overseas to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, we hope that the third relief package can subsidize the payment of salaries to workers in businesses affected by the pandemic,” he said.
Workers are an important asset in the tourism industry, he added.
Several travel agencies have succeeded in changing their business models from international tourism services to organizing tours for domestic travelers, but other agencies are still having trouble sustaining themselves, making the third relief fund package necessary, Lin said.
Businesses that received relief funds through the previous two bailout packages have been asked not to place employees on furlough and cut salaries by more than 20 percent, Lin said.
“We understand the problems facing several large travel agencies and would ask them to observe relevant regulations,” Lin added.
Asked how he plans to use the government-issued Triple Stimulus Vouchers to spur consumer spending, Lin said that the smartest way to use these vouchers is to spend them on the second phase “disease prevention tours,” adding that the vouchers can save about NT$10,000 in travel expenses.
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