Taiwan aims to have a tourism industry valued at NT$1 trillion (US$32.2 billion) by 2030 and is looking to further connect the sector to other industries, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday during the opening of the Taipei International Travel Fair.
Taiwan’s tourism sector was valued at NT$837.8 billion last year, and we hope to grow it to NT$1 trillion by 2030, Lai said.
Lai said he looked forward to the Executive Yuan or the Ministry of Transportation and Communications establishing a task force to achieve such goals, which not only encompasses domestic travel, but also travelers coming to Taiwan and Taiwanese traveling abroad.
Photo: CNA
The value of the tourism sector is directly tied to efforts to promote domestic tourism at home and abroad, he said.
Taiwanese on average spend NT$1.4 trillion per year on tourism, of which about NT$900 billion is spent abroad and NT$500 billion goes to domestic tourism, Lai said.
“We must step up our efforts to promote domestic tourism,” he said.
Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Visitors Association
Taiwan has the capacity make domestic tourism much better, Lai said.
The sector needs work, especially in terms of quality and costs, or it risks losing potential customers to foreign tourism, he added.
More than 6 million Taiwanese visited Japan last year, citing lower travel costs, Lai said, adding that government agencies must work with the industry to help boost people’s willingness to travel within Taiwan.
All government agencies should consider themselves the Tourism Administration, and even the president must contribute to the national efforts to promote domestic tourism, he said.
Lai tapped the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, and the Tourism Administration to find which events are extremely popular in Taiwan, and come up with measures to attract tourists to attend such events, especially during non-consecutive holidays.
Lai cited Tainan’s Taiwan International Orchid Show and the International Mango Festival, the Nantou Global Tea Expo and the New Taipei City Sky Lantern Festival as examples of popular attractions, and said that such events, as well as other future programs, should look for ways to further improve event organization.
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