The number of international tourists visiting Taiwan is estimated to top 8 million by the end of this year, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shi-kai (陳世凱) said yesterday, adding that the ministry has not changed its goal of attracting 10 million foreign travelers this year.
Chen made the remarks at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee to brief lawmakers about the ministry’s plan to boost foreign visitor arrivals.
Last month, Chen told the committee that the nation might attract only 7.5 million tourists from overseas this year and that when the ministry sets next year’s goal, it would not include Chinese tourists.
Photo: Taipei Times
Beijing only allows tourists to travel to Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties through group tours. Group tours and individual travel to Taiwan proper are still banned.
Chen yesterday sought to clarify his statement last month, saying that the goal of attracting 10 million international tourists this year remains unchanged.
“What I was saying was that we would definitely hit the 7.5 million mark this year. Our colleagues at the Tourism Administration are still working to bring in more international tourists. As a transportation minister, I cannot lower the expectations now. However, if we reach the 10 million goal this year, the aim would surely be higher next year,” he said.
The Tourism Administration is confident that it can attract more than 8 million foreign visitors this year, as it gears up to launch a more intensive tourism campaign this quarter — a peak season for travel to Taiwan, Chen said.
Commercials about travel in Taiwan would be aired on CNN, the BBC, Google and YouTube, and promotions such as “buy one, take one” air fares are just some of the incentives the Tourism Administration is preparing, he told lawmakers.
The agency plans to tap into opportunities presented by the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, next year, by encouraging international visitors to the expo to transit in and visit Taiwan before returning home, he said.
The return of international tourists has been slower in Taiwan than in other countries, Chen said.
While the nation’s international tourism market had recovered to 70 percent of the 2019 level during the first quarter, the growth trajectory came to an abrupt halt due to an earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale that struck Hualien on April 3, a weak yen and geopolitical factors, he said.
As of August, the nation welcomed 4.97 million international travelers, up 30 percent from a year earlier, but equivalent to only 62 percent of the 2019 level, he said.
The number could exceed 6.2 million when international visitor numbers in September and last month are added in, he said.
Chen added that the main problem facing tourism in Taiwan is that marketing campaigns used to attract international visitors seem to always highlight the same travel destinations, such as Sun Moon Lake, Taroko Gorge and Alishan.
“We need to discover new tourism highlights, which are many. As to marketing, we need to be more creative in using social media to reach potential visitors, aside from traditional campaigns,” Chen said.
Tourism Administration Director-General Chou Yung-hui (周永暉) said the earthquake in April dealt a major blow to the nation’s tourism industry, with many international tourists canceling plans to visit after watching news reports of the devastation in Hualien caused by the earthquake, even though the rest of the country reported no or mild damage.
To help revive tourism, travelers to Hualien County can receive subsidies of up to NT$2,500 for accommodation this month until Dec. 20, Chen said.
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