Taiwan was ranked the seventh-most popular destination for travelers from the Asia-Pacific region in a report released by Mastercard Inc last week.
Taiwan first entered the top 10 destinations for Asia-Pacific travelers in February in seventh place and retained that position in March, the Travel Industry Trends 2023 report said.
Australia was the most favored destination among Asia-Pacific travelers, ahead of the US, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and the UK, in that order, said the report, which was released on Tuesday by the Mastercard Economics Institute.
Photo courtesy of Mastercard Taiwan
Canada placed eighth, followed by Indonesia and Thailand, the report said.
“Across Asia-Pacific, rapid urbanization, technological advancements and a burgeoning middle class contribute to the rise in outbound tourism,” the report said.
“This growth is further fueled by the proliferation of low-cost carriers, improved visa policies and an increasing emphasis on experiences and adventure travel,” it said. “As a result, Asia-Pacific travelers are eager to explore regional and international destinations, creating diverse opportunities for the travel industry.”
Citing the report, Mastercard Taiwan general manager Eva Chen (陳懿文) said that the reopening of China has also benefited the global tourism industry.
China’s reopening following tight COVID-19 regulations is likely to have a positive effect on the experience economy as pent-up demand for travel is expected to drive strong tailwinds, the report said.
As more enterprises resume offline work in the post-COVID-10 era, business travel demand is increasing, Chen said.
Travelers are also likely to seek out traveling experiences rather than buy durable goods during their trips, she added.
In a survey conducted by Mastercard from May 16 to 30 to shed light on Taiwan’s tourism market, 43.4 percent of 1,000 Taiwanese respondents aged 20 to 65 who were frequent travelers said they had traveled outside the country since it had eased border controls late last year.
Of the respondents, 93.1 percent said they plan to go overseas within the next year, while 42.5 percent said they are planning to increase the frequency of their overseas trips, as well as the number of days they spend traveling.
Due to global inflation, 35.3 percent of respondents said that their travel expenses had risen by more than NT$10,000 compared with the pre-COVID-19 era, while 28.6 percent said they had adjusted their traveling plans accordingly, such as by avoiding peak seasons, reducing their spending on lodging and scaling back shopping.
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