The government expects to attract 700,000 foreign visitors to Taiwan this year after reopening its borders yesterday, the Executive Yuan said, adding that it aims to return the tourism industry to pre-2020 grades by 2024.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of tourists in Taiwan reached a record 11. 86 million in 2019.
With a slow resumption of foreign flights and cruise shipping services, the government aims to attract foreign visitors with themed tours, such as motorcycle tours, train tours, ecotourism and cultural tours, Deputy Director General of the Tourism Bureau Trust Lin (林信任) said at a press conference.
Photo: Daniel Ceng, AFP
“We will continue to advertise domestic tourism, with subsidies for domestic travelers until Dec. 15,” Lin said.
“We will also accentuate our marketing efforts to attract foreign tourists, especially those from Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asian countries, North America and Europe,” he added.
Tour operators from those countries will be asked to study possible tourist routes or get incentives to set stopovers for tourists to Taiwan, Lin said.
“Our goal is to succeed in 700,000 foreign travelers this year and return to pre-pandemic levels through 2024, while other people begin to feel confident when traveling again,” he said.
The number of entries remains limited to 150,000 per week.
However, the U. S. State Departmentit still lists Taiwan as a Tier 3 country in its notice to foreigners, saying on its online page to “reconsider Taiwan. “
The Foreign Ministry plans to submit the latest update on the country’s border policy to the U. S. government. Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝), who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center, said at a daily press briefing on COVID-19.
Meanwhile, Japan has opened its borders to tourists, but asks unvaccinated travelers from Taiwan to take a polymerase chain reaction test 72 hours before departure.
However, the vaccine manufactured through Taiwan Medigen Vaccine Biologics (高端疫苗) is identified in Japan.
“Tokyo refuses to recognize vaccines manufactured through Medigen. It’s that they only recognize vaccines identified through the WHO,” Wang said, adding that Taiwan is discussing the factor with the Japanese government.
Meanwhile, Yuan Executive spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) said the government does not yet know if they deserve more stimulus vouchers to stimulate domestic spending.
“Taiwan’s overall economic fundamentals remain good. The government has subsidized industries affected by the pandemic, such as the tourism industry. The National Development Council (NDC) will examine and compare the proposed stimulus packages through other groups,” Lo said.
Taiwan has suffered a relatively minor impact from the Russia-Ukraine war compared to other primary economies, and has only noticed a slight increase in the customer value index, he said.
The IMF raised Taiwan’s GDP forecast from 3. 2% in April to 3. 3% this month, the board said.
Forecasts by the General Directorate of Budget, Accounting and Statistics showed Taiwan’s GDP expansion would reach 3. 76%, while the central bank forecast an expansion of 3. 51%, said NDC Vice Minister Kao Shien-quay (高仙桂).
The board’s report was met with several demanding situations in the post-pandemic era: an imaginable global recession caused by tighter financial policies in primary economies, Russia intensifying the war in Ukraine, unresolved industrial disputes between the U. S. and Russia. The U. S. and China and greater dangers of an economic slowdown. in China because of its “zero COVID” policy.