The Tourism Bureau said that it is aiming to attract 200,000 Muslim tourists to the nation this year, adding that it is monitoring an outbreak of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and how it is affecting tourism.
Bureau Director-General David Hsieh (謝謂君) said that the bureau has set the goal of having 10 million international tourists visit the nation this year and that Muslims are one market the bureau is looking at, including people from Southeast Asian nations and the Middle East, he said.
To create a Muslim-friendly travel experience, Hsieh said that the bureau has begun to issue certifications for halal restaurants.
He said that the nation has 70 restaurants and three central kitchen operations that have been certified as offering halal food, including those at hotels and theme parks.
Meanwhile, Hsieh said that the bureau has 13 national scenic areas under its administration and each one has been equipped with a prayer room and a washing facility for Muslim tourists.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Jian-yu (陳建宇) has also requested that similar facilities be made available at freeway rest areas, as well as railway stations, Hsieh said, adding that the prayer room at Taipei Railway Station has been frequently used by Muslim visitors since it was opened at the beginning of this year.
Because of the availability of these facilities, Hsieh said that Taiwan has been ranked 10th in terms of a Muslim-friendly environment among non-Muslim countries.
He also said that the nation had succeeded in drawing approximately 180,000 Muslim tourists last year, marking a growth of 12.5 percent compared with 2013.
The bureau is striving to raise the number of Muslim tourists by 10 percent this year compared with last year, while hoping to reach 200,000, Hsieh said.
So far most of the Muslim tourists have come from Malaysia and Indonesia, he said.
With new flight services to Taiwan offered by Emirates and Turkish Airlines, he said that there are now more tourists visiting from the Middle East.
Hsieh also said that the bureau is aware that three patients have been diagnosed with MERS-CoV in South Korea, including one had recently returned from a trip to the Middle East.
The bureau said that it would ask travel agencies to ensure that tourists maintain good standards of hygiene and practice self health management to prevent the spread of the disease to Taiwan.
MERS-CoV has been found in 24 countries, but most of the cases have been in Middle East.
The Centers for Disease Control yesterday warned of a growing threat from MERS-CoV because fo the cases in South Korea.
The CDC said people planning to travel to affected areas should pay greater attention to personal hygiene and hand cleanliness.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to