TAIPEI: Taiwan is aiming to welcome 9.4 million international visitors this year as it continues efforts to diversify its tourism markets and narrow a widening travel deficit, the Tourism Administration said.
The island recorded about 8.57 million international arrivals last year, reaching 72.3% of pre-pandemic levels. In contrast, outbound travel rebounded strongly, with 18.94 million residents travelling abroad, surpassing the pre-Covid-19 figure of 17.1 million.
The imbalance contributed to an estimated tourism revenue deficit of NT$700.9 billion (US$22.22 billion).
Tourism Administration director-general Chen Yu-hsiu said Taiwan is on track to meet its target.
“We think 9.3 million to 9.4 million would be a relatively achievable goal for us. It would take some serious efforts to reach 9.5 million,” she said.
Chen noted that international arrivals rose by 11% to 12% last month, driven by stronger visitor numbers from Europe, North America and Southeast Asia, following efforts to diversify the inbound market.
“In the past, we relied heavily on tourists from a single country, but the situation has changed. We are seeing more tourists from Europe and North America, who tend to stay longer,” she said.
There has also been a rapid increase in visitors from the Philippines and more group travellers from Vietnam. Growth has also been recorded from India, New Zealand and Australia, signalling what Chen described as a structural shift in Taiwan’s inbound tourism profile.
Meanwhile, travel activity during the Lunar New Year holiday is expected to remain robust. Taoyuan International Airport Corp forecasts that more than 160,000 passengers will pass through the country’s main gateway daily during the festive period beginning Saturday.
Hotel occupancy nationwide averaged 43.03% as of Jan 30 for the nine-day holiday period.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai said domestic tourism has also strengthened, with residents making 220 million domestic trips last year.
“We aim to strengthen and upgrade the industry’s fundamentals, so that domestic and international visitors can enjoy a higher-quality experience in Taiwan, while also creating greater value across the country’s tourism sector,” he said.
However, plans to roll out incentives to boost domestic travel, including birthday-linked accommodation vouchers and weekday travel subsidies, have been put on hold pending legislative approval of the general budget.
Chen said the ministry hopes lawmakers will expedite the approval process, adding that incentives could be introduced between April and June if the budget is passed next month. Preparatory work for the programme has already been completed, the agency said.
