In 2014 the number of tourists to Taiwan reached a historic high of 9.91 million, the Executive Yuan stated today. Moreover, in the first four months of this year, tourists to Taiwan numbered around 3.32 million, year-on-year growth of 3.8 percent.
To develop the nation's tourism industry, the Tourism Development and Promotion Committee under the Executive Yuan convened its 40th committee meeting today, which was presided over by Minister without Portfolio Hsu Chun-yat.
Tourism is a platform and vehicle for promoting Taiwan's beautiful lifestyle, the Executive Yuan noted. Relevant industries' specialty products could be repackaged and marketed to the international community, and those of agriculture, cultural and creative industries, medical health care, and sports competitions could even be incorporated. Therefore, cross-ministerial coordination, communication and collaboration are needed to resolve relevant obstacles and difficulties in promoting tourism, the Executive Yuan emphasized.
Today's conference also discussed the issues of tour quality at the National Palace Museum (NPM). The Executive Yuan pointed out that the NPM has formulated various measures to alleviate overcrowding, such as diversion mechanisms for the viewing routes for such classic exhibits as the jade cabbage, Ding Cauldron of Duke Mao and meat-shaped stone. The NPM has also negotiated with EasyCard Corporation about installing electric gates and employing electronic ticketing.
The Executive Yuan reiterated that developing tourism into a highlight industry requires various ministries to exert their influence to jointly usher in the industry's growth. Championing ever more forward-looking outlooks and actions, the Tourism Development and Promotion Committee will strive to serve as a major platform for assisting Taiwan's tourism development and for coordinating and resolving the various issues faced in promoting tourism.