Independent tourists from abroad can still buy two high-speed rail (HSR) tickets for the price of one this year, as the special offer has proven successful in encouraging people to travel to central and southern Taiwan, the Tourism Administration said on Tuesday evening.
The agency’s tourism marketing strategy is under scrutiny, as it aims to attract 10 million international visitors this year and its cash incentive program for independent travelers is set to expire in June.
The “buy one, get one free” deal for high-speed rail tickets was “very well-received among international visitors last year and encouraged many of them to travel to central and southern Taiwan,” Tourism Administration Director-General Chou Yung-hui (周永暉) told reporters.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp
“Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp offers many railway tour packages, and we believe the special offer is very attractive to international tourists,” he said.
Chou said the agency would focus on increasing the number of tourists from North America and Japan this year.
It would tap into the tourism market for young Japanese travelers, including students who go on overseas school trips, he added.
As such, the agency is considering a partnership with Japan Railway to introduce a “Youth 18” railway travel pass, Chou said.
The agency also aims to increase the number of tourists who come to Taiwan for meetings, conferences, exhibitions or incentive tours organized by companies.
Aside from attending to their work, these travelers can have a brief tour if they come a few days earlier or stay a few days afterward, he said.
“We are also discussing with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economic Affairs the possibility of waiving or reducing the sales tax for foreign travelers, and hosting a coffee festival in Taiwan,” he said.
Last year, international tourists came mainly from five countries or areas: 1.32 million from Japan, 1.29 million from Hong Kong and Macau, 1.01 million from South Korea, 655,000 from the US and 470,000 from the Philippines.
Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Trust Lin (林信任) attributed the significant bump in US tourist numbers to increased flights between the US and Taiwan offered by Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Starlux Airlines.
A cash prize draw of NT$5,000 (US$152) is very popular among tourists from the Philippines, Hong Kong and Macau, as it can cover part of the cost of their airfare, Lin said.
Aside from opening a Taiwan Tourism Information Center in Seattle and Amsterdam this year, the agency is planning to open one in Rome next year, Chou said.
It is mulling ways to draw European tourists transiting through Thailand to Taiwan, he said.
“We hope all flights operating before the COVID-19 pandemic could fully resume this year, such as those between Taipei and Mumbai,” he said.
To boost the number of international tourists to Taitung County and Kenting National Park, the agency would encourage more tourists from Southeast Asia to enter and exit through Kaohsiung, he said.
The Tourism Administration added that it plans to spend NT$300 million in the next two years to building an “academy of tourism,” which would be in charge of proposing tourism policies through strategic planning and data analysis, as well as training professionals for the nation’s tourism industry.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
RSS