The Tourism Bureau plans to offer incentives to attract international tourists as the nation plans to gradually lift all travel restrictions to contain COVID-19, Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said yesterday.
The incentives would be funded by surplus national tax revenue from last year, Wang said.
The funding could be appropriated after the legislature passes draft special statutes governing the use of the surplus tax revenue in the upcoming legislative session, he said.
 - Copy.jpg)
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
Of the NT$450 billion (US$14.97 billion) in surplus tax revenue, the government plans to spend NT$100 billion on seven categories of projects to bolster Taiwan’s economic resilience amid challenges brought by global inflation, he added.
The categories include housing and public transportation projects, incentives to attract international tourists, and infrastructure upgrades for the agriculture and fishery industries, Wang said.
“Once the Legislative Yuan passes the draft special statutes, we can begin appropriating funding after submitting the budget plan,” he said.
“Incentives for international tourists could become available before April,” he added.
The incentives would be offered to group and individual travelers, Wang said.
“The Tourism Bureau plans to subsidize overseas travel agencies that organize tours to Taiwan and Taiwanese travel agencies that host inbound travelers,” he said.
“For individual travelers, the bureau is considering offering them EasyCards and vouchers for Taiwan Tour Bus rides. They might also receive a voucher to buy Taiwanese fruits at convenience stores,” Wang said.
The funding, which would be available until 2025, would cover the broadcast of tourism commercials in international media, he said.
“We have seen a strong recovery in domestic tourism, as shown in a dramatic increase of travelers during the Lunar New Year holiday. Our next goal should be to attract international travelers. Their greater purchasing power would boost the businesses of international tourist hotels and travel agencies that host inbound travelers,” he added.
The nation has set a goal of attracting 6 million international travelers this year, 1 million of whom would be Chinese, Wang said.
“As transportation minister, I welcome Chinese tourists,” he said.
“As all travel restrictions for international travelers are expected to be gradually lifted this year, airlines would increase the number of cross-strait flights to accommodate tourists from China,” he added.
Last year, about 850,000 international tourists visited Taiwan, surpassing the 700,000 target set by the bureau, Wang said.
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
The Central Weather Administration has issued a heat alert for southeastern Taiwan, warning of temperatures as high as 36°C today, while alerting some coastal areas of strong winds later in the day. Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) and Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔) are under an orange heat alert, which warns of temperatures as high as 36°C for three consecutive days, the CWA said, citing southwest winds. The heat would also extend to Tainan’s Nansi (楠西) and Yujing (玉井) districts, as well as Pingtung’s Gaoshu (高樹), Yanpu (鹽埔) and Majia (瑪家) townships, it said, forecasting highs of up to 36°C in those areas
RSS