Passenger arrivals in Taiwan have risen to about 30 percent of pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, airport data showed, with an expert predicting it could reach 40 percent by the end of the year.
Since the reopening of national borders on Oct. 16, travel to Taiwan has been slowly resuming.
Incoming traveler numbers this month are expected to reach 26 to 31 percent of pre-pandemic levels, Providence University Department of Tourism associate professor Huang Cheng-tsung (黃正聰) said, citing estimates from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
Photo: CNA
However, Huang said he believed it could reach 40 percent before the end of the year.
The largest number of travelers came from Vietnam at 16,000, followed by the US at 10,030 and Japan at 9,625, Tourism Bureau figures from October showed.
Travel to Taiwan has tripled since October, Hong Kong-based travel firm Klook said at an event on Wednesday announcing the results of a survey on travel habits in Asia.
Travelers from Singapore held the top spot, followed by South Korea and the US, its survey showed.
Travel from Japan and South Korea, the origin of most arrivals before the pandemic, has not yet fully recovered, it said.
Now that the pandemic is subsiding, people are looking to take full advantage of their newfound ability to travel by taking longer trips, planning in advance and spending more, Klook Taiwan general manager Emma Lee (李雅寧) said.
Taiwanese are increasingly looking outside of Asia and are seeking more unique travel experiences, she said.
Although 80 percent of respondents reported anxiety about traveling abroad next year, 90 percent said they look forward to it and nearly 20 percent have already booked tickets, the survey showed.
The most popular attraction is the Shibuya SKY observation tower in Tokyo, while the hottest package is a one-day tour of floating markets in Bangkok, Klook said.
As for travelers to Taiwan, more than half are coming for the food, Lee said.
Promoting exhibition tie-ups with large international events could draw more travelers, she said, citing as an example “Avatar: The Experience” at Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay.
Traveling by car has also become easier, after Taiwan and South Korea signed a driver’s license reciprocity agreement, Klook associate director of business development Ryan Tsai (蔡岳廷) said, adding that demand for car rentals has soared among South Korean tourists in Taiwan.
Taiwanese car rental firms have even started purchasing more Hyundai vehicles to meet the needs of this growing market, he said.
One surprising piece of feedback from these visitors has been that driving in Taiwan is safer than in South Korea, he added.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
RSS