By the end of the year, the government will present a 10-year plan to double the number of annual visitors to Taiwan to 20 million by 2030, Transportation Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said Thursday (August 29).
Over the past few years, the numbers of foreign travelers arriving in Taiwan broke records, first reaching 10 million and later 11 million a year. China’s decision to block individual travelers from visiting Taiwan beginning last August 1 has caused some pessimism, though government officials have expressed confidence they can offset the drop in Chinese visitors by attracting more from other countries.
Domestic travel subsidies for the autumn and winter have been introduced, and the simplification of visa procedures and the cutting of fees for charter flights to the east coast should also result in more foreign visitors, the Central News Agency quoted the minister as saying.
Lin told reporters the government would publish a tourism whitepaper by the end of the year to detail its plans for 20 million visitors per year, while it would also hold a “national tourism meeting” to hear relevant opinions and suggestions about the development of tourism.
The government’s Tourism Bureau will also be upgraded to a Tourism Agency, which should give it sufficient ability to promote Taiwan overseas by ending the shortage of qualified staff stationed abroad, Lin said.
The minister added he was asking the Cabinet to devote more public construction project funds to the redevelopment of the country’s 13 national scenic areas, which would leave more money to use for the promotion of tourism overseas, CNA reported.
By Taiwan News
