Premier Su Tseng-chang on Thursday indicated that tourism policy, laws and regulations, and the face of tourism itself must advance with the times as Taiwan faces an era of globalization and competition for visitors among cities around the world. Changes should be tailored to the nation's distinctive local attractions, as well as take into account transportation, tourists' preferences, and the different spending patterns of group tours versus individual travelers.
The premier made his remarks following a report by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) on Taiwan's tourism policy.
Taiwan welcomes tourists with open arms, Premier Su emphasized, but counter mechanisms and accompanying measures must be in place to deal with such burdens as threats to law and order caused by bad actors traveling in the guise of tourists. He also observed that the cities of Amsterdam and Paris are far ahead of Taiwan when it comes to sharing economy services like Airbnb. The nation can also look to the experience and precedents of other countries when confronting problems with security, taxation and unfair competition precipitated by hotels and informal lodgers operating outside the law.
The MOTC indicated that 2018 was another record year for Taiwan, with over 11 million visits recorded. The ministry will continue its strategies of developing diverse markets, energizing domestic tourism, and guiding the transformation of the tourism industry, with the aim of achieving 2019 targets of 11.5 million international visits, 190 million local trips and tourism income of NT$821.5 billion (US$26.6 billion).