Taiwan’s foreign visitor levels this year are anticipated to miss a target by about 2 million amid setbacks in cross-strait travel, Tourism Administration Director-General Chou Yung-hui (周永暉) said yesterday.
If China maintains its ban on group tourist visits to Taiwan, the tourism target could be revised down to 10 million, with a return to pre-COVID-19 levels of 12 million not anticipated until next year, Chou said.
Taiwan has called on China to show “goodwill” regarding tourism and political issues, indicating that such gestures might lead to the lifting of its own ban on tour groups destined for China starting in June.
Photo: CNA
Last month, Taipei reversed its decision to lift the three-year ban on China-bound group tourists, citing hostilities from Beijing and the absence of Chinese group tourists visiting Taiwan.
The latest administration data showed that the number of visitors to Taiwan this year had reached nearly 1.9 million as of March 15, representing a recovery of about 85 percent compared with the same period before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019.
The places with the most visitors to Taiwan are Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Macau.
Meanwhile, Chou said that the existing Taiwan Pass, originally exclusive to foreign visitors, would be extended to local tourists as well, aiming to stimulate the tourism market.
The NT$2,500 pass, which allows three days of unlimited travel across the country’s high-speed rail network and selected metro and tour bus systems, would incorporate cruise liner services, he said.
While the price of the pass has not been finalized, it is to be launched on June 1, Chou said.
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