The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) is considering relaxing self-health management requirements for Taiwanese tourists returning from Palau after disappointing tour sales threaten the “travel bubble” agreement between the two countries.
The CECC made the remarks yesterday after the six travel agencies designated to arrange tours to Palau reported lackluster sales following the pilot tours on April 1, which were joined by 100 tourists.
Since the launch, the average load factor for flights to and from Palau was about 26 percent, China Airlines (CAL) said.
Photo: Hsiao Yu-hsin, Taipei Times
Travel operators have been urging the CECC to loosen the 14-day self-health management requirement for visitors returning from Palau, which they said is a major reason why people are reluctant to visit the country, which has zero COVID-19 cases.
Tourists are subject to a stricter version of self-health management in the first five days after returning to Taiwan, which bans them from going to crowded places and taking public transportation. Afterward, they are required to observe general self-health management guidelines for another nine days.
“We are leaning toward relaxing the self-health management requirement in the first five days following their return to the country by requiring them to abide by general self-health management guidelines during the five-day period,” Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is also the CECC’s spokesman, said at a daily briefing, adding that the CECC has yet to approve the proposal.
While the CECC might relax the self-health management requirement, Chuang said that visitors must still take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test on the fifth day of their return from Palau.
Three of the six designated travel agencies have said they might pull out of the program, as the tours have failed to attract large numbers of travelers, local Chinese-language media reported.
They only agreed to stay after CAL canceled the rule requiring travel agencies to make a NT$10,000 deposit in advance for each seat assigned to them on the charter flight, the reports added.
CAL said it has voluntarily lowered the fare to Palau to attract visitors, in addition to canceling the deposit requirement.
“We will continue to work with travel agents to promote tours to Palau in the hope of maximizing the benefits brought by the ‘travel bubble’ agreement,” it said.
On Thursday, the Palauan government said it would lift a cap that limits flight and hotel occupancy to 70 percent, and waive the NT$500 service fee for the Traveler Verification Center.
Tourists visiting attractions such as the Jellyfish Lake would receive a US$25 subsidy per person, it said.
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