The Executive Yuan has laid out seven plans to stabilize and revitalize the tourism industry following a sharp drop in the number of Chinese tourists.
The central government will offer financial packages to travel agencies that are experiencing difficulties due to the decline in the number of Chinese tourists, the Executive Yuan said.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs said it would assist the agencies to obtain funds and would consider offering loans, adding that it will also offer consultation, facilitate mergers and mediate between creditors and the agencies.
The government also pledged to encourage domestic travel to support the tourism industry, with measures such as boosting the usage of Citizen’s Travel Cards, encouraging corporations to offer tours to their employees and organizing field trips for students and at community centers for older people.
The government would launch a one-year trial period for 30-day visa waivers to travelers from Thailand and Brunei, as well as offering conditional visa waivers to other Southeast Asian nations, the Executive Yuan said.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications estimated that the number of Southeast Asian tourists would increase by 280,000 annually and generate NT$130 million (US$4.14 million) in tourism revenue.
In preparation for an influx of Southeast Asian tourists, the National Immigration Agency is helping immigrants from those nations and their children to prepare for tour guide examinations, the Executive Yuan said, adding that it would encourage universities to establish courses for Southeast Asian languages.
The Ministry of Labor is planning to relax the standards for immigrants applying for work permits, while the Ministry of Examination plans to increase the number of tests and examination materials for Southeast Asian language tour guides.
As several Southeast Asian nations have a Muslim majority, the government is seeking to establish areas and facilities that would be more friendly to Muslims, the Executive Yuan said, adding that the government is seeking to have 100 restaurants obtain halal food certification.
The government is seeking to establish prayer rooms for Muslims in transport hubs, scenic spots and malls, the Executive Yuan said, adding that it would assist in the planning of tour routes and education at travel agencies for Muslim tourists.
To ensure that Southeast Asian travelers are aware of Taiwan’s plans, the government is increasing its advertisement budget from NT$80 million in fiscal 2016 to NT$200 million in fiscal 2017, it said.
Among the expenses would be the inspection and potential replacement of English-language signs in scenic areas, the Executive Yuan said.
As an additional incentive for ASEAN businesspeople to visit Taiwan for business and pleasure, the Ministry of Finance is to increase the number of stores that offer tax refund services and the number of foreign currency exchange kiosks.
Minister Without Portfolio Chang Ching-sen (張景森) yesterday met with officials from the transportation ministry and other agencies to finalize a deal to minimize clashes during a planned protest on Saturday by tourism business operators.
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work
KONG-REY: A woman was killed in a vehicle hit by a tree, while 205 people were injured as the storm moved across the nation and entered the Taiwan Strait Typhoon Kong-rey slammed into Taiwan yesterday as one of the biggest storms to hit the nation in decades, whipping up 10m waves, triggering floods and claiming at least one life. Kong-rey made landfall in Taitung County’s Chenggong Township (成功) at 1:40pm, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The typhoon — the first in Taiwan’s history to make landfall after mid-October — was moving north-northwest at 21kph when it hit land, CWA data showed. The fast-moving storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 184kph, with gusts of up to 227kph, CWA data showed. It was the same strength as Typhoon Gaemi, which was the most
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