Thu, Feb 15, 2024 page2

• Domestic tourism grows after the pandemic

  COMEBACK: People are willing to travel domestically despite increasing demand for international tourism, a tourism agency said, adding that lower costs makes it attractive

  • Staff writer, with CNA
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  The occupancy rates of hotels in Taiwan have increased by about 30 percent after COVID-19 restrictions were eased last year, indicating growing domestic travel demand despite the post-pandemic international travel surge, Tourism Administration’s statistics showed.

  There were 10,739,028 outbound visits from Taiwan from January to November last year, showing the public’s desire for international travel, and although such demand was expected to have a negative impact on domestic travel, it was not the case, the statistics showed.

  They also showed that the average occupancy rate of tourist hotels in Taiwan was 60.13 percent from January to November last year, higher that the 46.21 percent occupancy rate in the same period in 2022, a growth rate of about 30.13 percent.

  

  Travelers walk among cherry blossom trees in a forest in an undated photograph.

  Photo courtesy of Cola Tour

  The average occupancy rate of all hotels was 47.99 percent in the same period last year, also higher than 41.17 percent in the same period the previous year, the data showed.

  The numbers indicate that people are still willing to travel domestically, even though international travel has increased, the agency said.

  Travel agencies said that domestic group travel was not affected as much as they had feared.

  Travel e-commerce platform KKday said tourism boomed last year, and the best-selling items in domestic travel were attraction tickets, featured tour packages, transportation tickets and outdoor activity packages.

  Lion Travel Service Co Ltd (雄獅旅遊) said the number of people who traveled domestically last year increased by 15 percent, compared with the year before.

  Online travel agency Eztravel.com (易遊網) said its best-selling items in domestic travel were tourist-train tickets, high-speed rail tour packages and flight tickets, adding that they were sold more than 500,000 times last year, doubling the previous year’s number.

  Some travel agencies said the most popular domestic travel trend in the future could be themed tour packages.

  Cola Travel Service Co (可樂旅遊) said in the post-pandemic era, domestic group travel tours are mostly attended by middle-aged and elderly people who have spare money and time, while younger customers tend to choose themed tour packages — such as special limited itineraries of Qalang Smangus Village (司馬庫斯) in Hsinchu County, cherry blossom viewing near Taichung’s Wuling Farm (武陵農場) and taking the Alishan Forest Railway — that are relatively rare in the market,.

  Lion Travel said it has themed tour packages such as the “traveling with textbooks” tour, taking travelers to Taroko Gorge (太魯閣峽谷) in Hualien County, Anping Fort (安平古堡) in Tainan, Alishan (阿里山) in Chiayi County to introduce local cultural, historical and geographical features, allowing them to experience the sights mentioned in textbooks.

  Cola Travel said domestic travel is relatively cheaper than international travel and can be booked more spontaneously, so it still attracts many people, adding that the prospects are promising if travel agencies can come up with more rare and themed tour packages that travelers have difficulties organizing on their own.

  Eztravel.com said it is optimistic about the domestic travel market, since high costs of international trips make them more rare than domestic tours.

  Meanwhile, the agency’s statistics showed that Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山國家公園) was the most visited national park while Sun Moon Lake (日月潭) was the most visited scenic area from January to November last year.

  There were 5,423,677 people who visited Yangmingshan National Park last year, an increase of 61.64 percent compared with the previous year.

  Sun Moon Lake was visited 3,068,324 times last year, followed by Lion’s Head Mountain Scenic District (獅頭山風景區) at the border of Hsinchu County and Miaoli County, with more than 2 million visits.

  The Sitou Nature Education Area (溪頭自然教育園區) in Nantou County was the most visited forest recreation area last year, with more than 1.48 million visits, followed by Alishan National Forest Recreation Area, with more than 880,000 visits.

  As for museums, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall (國父紀念館) in Taipei had more than 8.26 million visits last year, while the National Palace Museum in Taipei garnered over 1.37 million visits.

  Wude Temple (武德宮) in Yunlin County’s Beigang Township (北港) was visited more than 7.86 million times last year, making it the most visited religious site, followed by Chaotien Temple (朝天宮), also in Beigang Township.

  The statistics were reported by respective local governments, and the number of visits at some renown sites were unreported, the agency said, adding that the statistical methods of each site might also differ and the data is only for reference.
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