The Tourism Administration on Monday defended its policy of subsidizing international charter flights landing in Hualien and Taitung counties, saying that it has helped bring more than 5,600 international visitors to Taiwan and generated more than NT$60 million (US$2 million) in economic benefits.
The tourism authority issued the statement after the National Audit Office questioned the effectiveness of the policy in its Central Government Final Accounts Report for last year, which was published on July 29.
Two travel agencies received subsidies in 2023 for chartering four international flights, bringing 440 tourists to the east coast, the office said in the report, adding that the results last year also fell short of expectations.
Photo: Wang Chin-yi, Taipei Times
Tourists mostly came from Southeast Asia, and there were no charter flights from Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Macau or the Philippines, the office said.
The Tourism Administration needs to expand the sources of international tourists, it added.
The tourism agency said that the Executive Yuan in 2022 approved the continuation of the international charter flight program to promote sustainable tourism in Hualien and Taitung counties, allocating a budget of NT$80.1 million to subsidize charter flight operators from 2023 to this year.
As tourism in Hualien and Taitung was seriously affected by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake on April 3 last year, subsidies for international charter flights were increased to speed up the recovery of the travel business in the two eastern counties, the agency added.
It said that it has seen significant results from the implementation of the program, adding that it subsidized 16 international charter flights from July to December last year.
Since Dec. 12 last year, Hong Kong Express Airways has dispatched four charter flights between Hong Kong and Hualien per week.
As of last month, 43 international charter flights received government subsidies, with tourists arriving from Hong Kong, Thailand and Vietnam, the agency said.
More than 5,600 international tourists are expected to visit Hualien and Taitung through the charter flights, generating more than NT$60 million in economic benefits, it said.
The global travel market in 2023 has yet to fully recover from the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, including oil price hikes, reorganizations of airline fleets and the slow return of inbound tourists from main source countries, it said.
There were only four international charter flights to Hualien and Taitung in 2023 because of rising living, personnel and travel costs, it added.
Last year, travelers’ interests and faith in traveling to the east coast hit a low point due to the earthquake on April 3 and typhoons, the agency said.
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