Passenger arrivals in Taiwan have risen to about 30 percent of pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, airport data showed, with an expert predicting it could reach 40 percent by the end of the year.
Since the reopening of national borders on Oct. 16, travel to Taiwan has been slowly resuming.
Incoming traveler numbers this month are expected to reach 26 to 31 percent of pre-pandemic levels, Providence University Department of Tourism associate professor Huang Cheng-tsung (黃正聰) said, citing estimates from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
Photo: CNA
However, Huang said he believed it could reach 40 percent before the end of the year.
The largest number of travelers came from Vietnam at 16,000, followed by the US at 10,030 and Japan at 9,625, Tourism Bureau figures from October showed.
Travel to Taiwan has tripled since October, Hong Kong-based travel firm Klook said at an event on Wednesday announcing the results of a survey on travel habits in Asia.
Travelers from Singapore held the top spot, followed by South Korea and the US, its survey showed.
Travel from Japan and South Korea, the origin of most arrivals before the pandemic, has not yet fully recovered, it said.
Now that the pandemic is subsiding, people are looking to take full advantage of their newfound ability to travel by taking longer trips, planning in advance and spending more, Klook Taiwan general manager Emma Lee (李雅寧) said.
Taiwanese are increasingly looking outside of Asia and are seeking more unique travel experiences, she said.
Although 80 percent of respondents reported anxiety about traveling abroad next year, 90 percent said they look forward to it and nearly 20 percent have already booked tickets, the survey showed.
The most popular attraction is the Shibuya SKY observation tower in Tokyo, while the hottest package is a one-day tour of floating markets in Bangkok, Klook said.
As for travelers to Taiwan, more than half are coming for the food, Lee said.
Promoting exhibition tie-ups with large international events could draw more travelers, she said, citing as an example “Avatar: The Experience” at Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay.
Traveling by car has also become easier, after Taiwan and South Korea signed a driver’s license reciprocity agreement, Klook associate director of business development Ryan Tsai (蔡岳廷) said, adding that demand for car rentals has soared among South Korean tourists in Taiwan.
Taiwanese car rental firms have even started purchasing more Hyundai vehicles to meet the needs of this growing market, he said.
One surprising piece of feedback from these visitors has been that driving in Taiwan is safer than in South Korea, he added.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not