At the weekly Cabinet meeting on Thursday, Premier Cho Jung-tai received a briefing from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) on promoting tourism to create the nation's next "trillion-dollar" industry. The premier said Taiwan possesses rich cultural resources and world-class tourist attractions, and asked the MOTC to continue expanding its publicity efforts across a diverse array of channels, to quickly achieve the goal of attracting 10 million visits by foreign tourists this year.
Starting June 1, the Executive Yuan will begin rolling out three major programs and six related measures under a plan to revitalize Hualien's tourism industry, following the earthquake that struck the county on April 3. The premier instructed the relevant ministries and agencies to strengthen cooperation with local governments and step up publicity in conjunction with summer vacations and festivals, so as to derive maximum benefit from the revitalization plan.
Premier Cho emphasized that there has been no change in the government's policy stance which welcomes Chinese tourists to Taiwan, and said Taiwan is ready and willing for both sides to move forward in reopening equal tourism exchanges. The premier hopes China can also demonstrate corresponding goodwill and effort on this issue, and contribute jointly to peace and exchanges across the Taiwan Strait. As regards travel agencies that have already organized tour groups to visit China, the government has decided to relax the group tour ban and allow tours scheduled before June 1, 2024 to continue as planned, so as to uphold the rights of travelers and travel agencies. Moving forward, the government will also conduct rolling reviews as appropriate based on the circumstances, to ensure that travel-related policies serve the best interests of Taiwan's populace and the tourism industry.