Taiwan’s hotel room rates are too high, but when the government subsidized the domestic travel industry, some hotel owners increased room prices, leading people to prefer travel abroad to excursions in Taiwan.
Moreover, the number of Japanese visiting Taiwan is not as high as expected.
Data released by the Tourism Administration showed that while the number of Japanese visiting Taiwan has reached 50 percent of pre-COVID-19 pandemic figures, those traveling to South Korea and Southeast Asia have surpassed 80 percent.
Japanese visit South Korea because of the proximity of the two countries, while they visit Vietnam and Thailand because travel in those nations is cheap and the sightseeing spots are relatively new to them, some academics say.
This indicates that Japanese tourists are quite sensitive to price differences after the pandemic.
Domestic travel in Taiwan has been declining because of an unsatisfactory ration of cost to performance.
A good hotel room costs at least NT$5,000 to NT$6,000 a night, a better one is about NT$10,000 and a high-end one would be NT$20,000 to NT$30,000.
Meanwhile, a night at a five-star hotel in Shinjuku in Tokyo costs the equivalent of about NT$6,000, while a standard room is NT$3,000 to NT$4,000, meaning Taiwan’s hotel room rates are 60 percent to 100 percent more expensive than in Japan.
How can the country expect to attract foreign tourists?
If the occupancy rates of the nation’s hotels is to be increased, service standards must improve, and, more importantly, better deals are needed for clean, comfortable rooms.
Given that Taiwan is still among the top three overseas destinations for Japanese, the nation must develop more ways to attract them.
It should focus on people aged 50 or older, as they are better-off, usually have more leisure time and many have not been to Taiwan.
There should be a focus on places in Taiwan that have links to Japanese history, culture and art, as such visitors would want to experience how their nation’s past is intertwined with Taiwan’s present.
Taiwan’s old Japanese buildings would fit the bill.
Taiwan should promote such attractions in ways that are most familiar to the target groups and welcome such visitors as valued guests.
This would boost the nation’s hospitality industry for years to come.
Dino Wei is an information engineer.
Translated by Emma Liu
Trying to force a partnership between Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and Intel Corp would be a wildly complex ordeal. Already, the reported request from the Trump administration for TSMC to take a controlling stake in Intel’s US factories is facing valid questions about feasibility from all sides. Washington would likely not support a foreign company operating Intel’s domestic factories, Reuters reported — just look at how that is going over in the steel sector. Meanwhile, many in Taiwan are concerned about the company being forced to transfer its bleeding-edge tech capabilities and give up its strategic advantage. This is especially
US President Donald Trump last week announced plans to impose reciprocal tariffs on eight countries. As Taiwan, a key hub for semiconductor manufacturing, is among them, the policy would significantly affect the country. In response, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) dispatched two officials to the US for negotiations, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC) board of directors convened its first-ever meeting in the US. Those developments highlight how the US’ unstable trade policies are posing a growing threat to Taiwan. Can the US truly gain an advantage in chip manufacturing by reversing trade liberalization? Is it realistic to
The US Department of State has removed the phrase “we do not support Taiwan independence” in its updated Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, which instead iterates that “we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means, free from coercion, in a manner acceptable to the people on both sides of the Strait.” This shows a tougher stance rejecting China’s false claims of sovereignty over Taiwan. Since switching formal diplomatic recognition from the Republic of China to the People’s Republic of China in 1979, the US government has continually indicated that it “does not support Taiwan independence.” The phrase was removed in 2022
US President Donald Trump, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth have each given their thoughts on Russia’s war with Ukraine. There are a few proponents of US skepticism in Taiwan taking advantage of developments to write articles claiming that the US would arbitrarily abandon Ukraine. The reality is that when one understands Trump’s negotiating habits, one sees that he brings up all variables of a situation prior to discussion, using broad negotiations to take charge. As for his ultimate goals and the aces up his sleeve, he wants to keep things vague for
RSS