Chinese tour groups are not likely to come to Taiwan until next year, Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) told the legislature’s Transportation Committee yesterday.
“We have learned through our unofficial channel of communications that [Chinese tourists] are unlikely to come this year. We will see about next year,” Wang told Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁).
The government has since last month allowed Chinese living or studying outside China, or in Hong Kong or Macau, to visit Taiwan for tourism.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
The Mainland Affairs Council on Aug. 24 said that it aimed to fully resume cross-strait tourism following a 30-day preparation period, and would cap the number of Chinese group travelers to Taiwan at 2,000 per day in the initial phase, adding that the same daily quota would also apply to Taiwanese tour groups traveling to China.
When cross-strait tourism could resume would depend largely on China’s response to the new policy, the council said.
However, the council said at the end of last month that it has yet to receive any official response from Beijing.
“We must be crystal clear about where we stand on cross-strait tourism issues. We have shown goodwill and would allow Taiwanese tour groups to visit China, but if Beijing only allows Taiwanese to visit China while continuing to impose a travel ban to Taiwan for Chinese group travelers, it would eventually hurt our hoteliers and restaurateurs,” Wang said.
Separately, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lee Kun-tse (李昆澤) blamed the Tourism Administration for a lack of growth in international visitor numbers.
The World Tourism Organization has projected that this year’s international tourism market is expected to return to at least 80 percent of pre-COVID-19 levels, up from 63 percent last year, Lee said.
The report also states that the recovery of international tourism in some countries could reach 90 percent of pre-pandemic levels this year, Lee said.
From January to August, Taiwan welcomed 3.82 million international travelers, which accounted for only 48 percent of international arrivals during the same period in 2019, Lee said.
By contrast, 7.34 million Taiwanese had traveled overseas as of August, which was 62.8 percent of the number recorded during the same period in 2019.
In Japan, the total number of inbound tourists had as of August recovered to 70 percent of the 2019 level, Lee said, citing data from the Japan National Tourism Organization.
The number of international arrivals in Japan in August returned to 86 percent of the level recorded in the same month in 2019.
Even if the Tourism Administration could manage to reach its goal of 6 million international tourists visiting Taiwan this year, it would only be 49 percent of the level recorded before COVID-19, Lee said.
Domestic tourism also showed no signs of recovery, Lee said.
The average hotel occupancy rate during the Mid-Autumn Festival long weekend was 49.28 percent, while that for the Double Ten National Day long weekend was 59.93 percent, he said.
Lee said there were several hurdles for Taiwan in attracting international tourists, including difficulties in transiting between different public transport systems, confusing road signs, a lack of characteristics in some tourist attractions and tours with low cost-performance ratios.
In response, Tourism Administration Director-General Chou Yung-hui (周永暉) said that Japan would not have mostly returned to its pre-COVID-19 levels if it discounted Chinese tourists, adding that the devaluation of the Japanese yen also prevented many Japanese from traveling overseas.
“We would increase our offices overseas, which would be in charge of conducting tourism campaigns to attract international travelers,” Chou said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by