The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is establishing 18 tourist attraction zones, each made distinct and unique with local specialties, to break the uniformity of Taiwan’s night markets, scenic hotspots and old streets, Minister of Transportation and Communications Li Meng-yen (李孟諺) said on Saturday.
The Tourism Bureau would work with all 13 national scenic management offices and local county and city governments to ensure that each of the 18 tourism zones has unique characteristics and does not overlap with other zones, Li told Mirror TV.
The bureau has compiled a list of excellent quality hotels in the hopes of combating the high price of rooms affecting domestic tourism, he said.
Photo: CNA
The ministry aims to consolidate the number of tourists coming from Southeast and Northeast Asia, Li said.
It also plans to increase the number of tourists from Indonesia and India, and entice more from Europe and the Americas, the minister said.
In terms of the number of tourists from other countries, Japan is still in first place, with Hong Kong and Macau in second, South Korea in third, the US in fourth and Malaysia in fifth, Li said.
The ministry’s policies must retain tourists from these countries, while taking measures — such as engaging with Internet streamers in Indonesia and India — to promote tourism in Taiwan more effectively, he said.
The ministry would establish offices in India and Indonesia to promote Taiwan while adopting other measures, such as simplifying entry procedures for citizens of both countries, Li said.
It would also be working to increase the flights to Europe and the Americas, he said, adding that the number of flights to Seattle increased this month.
These measures would hopefully enable the ministry to meet its goal of having 10 million tourists visit the nation this year, Li said.
As of the first half of this year, Taiwan has only had 3.8 million tourists, short of its goal of 6.2 million.
Li said that the number of Taiwanese tourists visiting China far outstrips the number of Chinese tourists coming to Taiwan.
There is an evident discrepancy between China and Taiwan regarding independent and group tours, he said, adding that he hoped this situation would improve.
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