The government would provide subsidies for weekday accommodation starting in March next year to promote domestic tourism, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said today.
Regarding the high prices of accommodation around Taiwan, Cho said that domestic tourism is concentrated on weekends and holidays, and because non-holiday pricing cannot be averaged out evenly, it leads to rooms being hard to find and expensive on holidays.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is introducing weekday accommodation subsidies to encourage people to travel during the week, he said.
The ministry is planning to offer weekday accommodation discounts, birthday accommodation specials, deals on overnight stays at amusement parks, and domestic travel incentives for corporate employees starting in March next year.
Considering the Ministry of Labor protects workers’ rights, those who have paid leave are encouraged to take days off during the week, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) said.
The ministry’s subsidies are meant to encourage people to travel during the week, and accommodation prices on the weekdays are not that high, Chen said.
In addition, many tourist attractions across Taiwan are offering free admission, discounts and promotions to encourage people to visit local attractions and revitalize local industries, the Tourism Administration said in a press release today.
The National Museum of Natural Science said that starting next year, it would offer free admission every Friday from 2pm to 5pm.
The Yilan campus of the National Center for Traditional Arts announced that next month, Yilan residents can enter for free on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays.
The Alishan Forest Railway is running a raffle, offering visitors who spend a certain amount at any of the six surrounding townships a chance to win a NT$16,000 tour package, the Tourism Administration said.
The Jinzaijiao Tile-paved Salt Fields is holding a stamp-collecting tour in cooperation with the Beimen Wangye Art Festival, offering participants prizes from gold to an iPhone 17, it said.
Cimei Island (七美) is offering NT$500 vouchers and scratch cards, as well as free admission to Penghu’s top ten cultural venues and free rides on Penghu hop-on hop-off tourist buses.
Meanwhile in Kimmen, the Chen Jinglan Mansion is offering coffee discounts, the Jingwu Winery Cellar is offering complimentary draft beer, and the Jinhu Leisure Agricultural Area is offering discounts on food and shrimping.
Many attractions are offering shopping discounts and accommodation packages, hoping to boost domestic tourism, the administration said.
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