Representatives from Taiwan’s tourism sector yesterday asked travel agencies to follow strict self-regulation when dealing with tour groups from China, saying that they must not charge Chinese tourists less than US$60 per day per head.
Travel Agent Association (TAA) chairman Ya Ta-kuang (姚大光) said the Tourism Bureau also required that Chinese tourists be charged no more than US$80 per day to ensure quality of service. He said US$80 is commonly perceived as a reasonable price.
While Yao said some travel agencies might still be able to offer an acceptable level of service for less than US$80 per day, it was impossible for them to charge less than US$60 per day and still maintain standards.
Yao raised the issue at a cross-strait travel seminar yesterday, attended by Tourism Bureau Deputy Director General Hsieh Wei-chun (謝謂君), China’s National Tourism Administration Chairman Shao Qiwei (邵琪偉) and several travel industry representatives from Taiwan and China.
Yao said that some travel agents allegedly offer tour packages for as little as US$30 per day, seeking to earn profits by arranging for visitors to go shopping at designated stores.
Yao cited statistics from the TAA — which is entrusted by the government to help review applications from tour groups from China — showing that an average of 700 Chinese tourists per day are scheduled to come to Taiwan next month.
As more than 100 Chinese travel agencies are authorized to organize tours to Taiwan, the number could potentially rise to 1,500 per day, he said.
Shao said in his presentation that both sides of the Strait could maximize cross-strait tourism by engaging in tourist exchange mechanisms, like campaigns launched in Jiangsu and Shandong.
Both sides also need to establish a platform to exchange travel information that enables travel agencies to design different tour packages and to better cope with emergency situations, he said.
Shao also mentioned the possibility of promoting a cross-strait cruise tour service this year.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS