Few international tour operators have shown interest in scouting potential tour routes in Taiwan due to Taiwan’s COVID-19 quarantine measures, the Tourism Bureau said yesterday.
The agency made the statement after a group of 25 Japanese tour operators on Sunday arrived to explore scenic attractions in Taiwan. It was the first tour-scouting group to visit the nation since the government imposed tight border controls in 2020.
The tour operators, who were invited by the bureau, received special permission from the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) to be exempted from the three days of quarantine and four days of self-health management that applies to most arrivals, said Huang Shi-fang (黃勢芳), head of the bureau’s International Tour Division.
Photo: Yu Chao-fu, Taipei Times
Asked whether other foreign groups are expected later this year, he said that despite inviting tour operators from other countries, few have expressed interest in exploring Taiwan as a tourist destination due to the country’s quarantine policy.
“We requested a quarantine-free entry because Japan is one of our source nations for inbound tourists,” Huang said, adding that should “any other target nation show interest, we will submit disease-prevention plans to the CECC for them.”
The bureau is revising disease prevention guidelines for a group of South Korean journalists who last week expressed interest in reporting on tours in Taiwan, Huang said, adding that the bureau is reaching out to Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asian nations included in the government’s New Southbound Policy.
“The tour this time is to show the group from Japan that domestic tours in Taiwan are alive and well. The tour’s itinerary cannot be too diverse because of the need to prevent a COVID-19 outbreak,” Huang said.
The group yesterday visited the Yehliu Geopark (野柳公園) and Jingtong Sky Lantern Hall in New Taipei City, as well as the Chengbin Fishing Port in Keelung. While in Keelung, the group also specifically requested to visit the old site of Wufu store, which was previously owned by the great-grandfather of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Group members are today to visit a duty-free shopping center in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖) where tourists from Japan can go shopping and view the Taipei 101 building from a double-decker bus.
This afternoon, they are to discuss potential business opportunities with local travel agencies before leaving early tomorrow morning.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe
RSS