Taiwan's 10 millionth visitor of 2015 is expected to arrive on December 19, and this milestone is worthy of commemoration, Premier Mao Chi-kuo stated at today's Cabinet meeting after a tourism briefing by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC).
Developing tourism is an important policy of President Ma Ying-jeou, the premier said. With the collaborative efforts of all citizens, the tourism sector, the Tourism Bureau, various ministries and agencies, and local governments, the number of tourists visiting Taiwan has risen by roughly one million annually over the past seven years, from 3.84 million in 2008 to more than 10 million this year.
This milestone is owed not only to the opening of Taiwan to mainland Chinese tourists but also to the all-encompassing and across-the-board growth engendered by the tourism sector. Growth momentum has been building every year, Mao noted.
The design and formulation of tourism policy emphasizes both "foundation consolidation" and "vanguard selection," the premier pointed out. Vanguards are policy measures that can become policy bright spots within a short timeframe, while foundation consolidation is the improvement of tourism infrastructure. After years of formulation, cultivation and management, the Tourism Bureau's Project Vanguard for Excellence in Tourism has made many local tourism resources bright spots in the nation's tourism calendar and then promoted and publicized them to the international community.
The premier also noted the high revisit rate of international travelers, which highlights Taiwan's enchantment. The revisit rate is especially high for tourists from Japan—50 percent—and even higher for those from Hong Kong and Macau, at 70 percent. Most tourists from these two areas are "weekend visitors."
In recent years the government has been proactively promoting tourism policies such as the Project Vanguard for Excellence in Tourism and Taiwan's 2015-2018 Tourism Action Plan, the MOTC stated.
From 2007 to this year:
‧Visitors to Taiwan increased from 3.71 million to an estimated 10 million.
‧Foreign exchange earnings from tourism surged by 2.6 times, from NT$17.12 billion (US$521.95 million) to an estimated NT$44.50 billion (US$1.36 billion).
‧Hotel rooms increased 44.6 percent, from 132,000 to 188,000.
‧The work force in the tourism sector soared 90 percent, from 100,000 to 190,000.
The MOTC pointed out that many international media have given rave reviews of Taiwan tourism:
‧Business Insider rated Taiwan the sixth must-visit new tourist spot of 2016.
‧National Geographic Traveler named Taiwan one of the best 20 tourist spots in the world in 2015.
‧Lonely Planet listed Taiwan among the 10 sites most worth visiting in 2015.
‧The New York Times rated Taiwan as the 11th must-go destination of 2014.
‧Readers from CNN selected Taiwan as the No. 1 spot for a gourmet tour.
‧The website Lifestyle9 rated Taiwan the world's second-safest nation.