President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Friday encouraged exhibitors at the Taipei International Travel Fair (ITF) to attract more international tourists by taking advantage of recently loosened border controls.
The Nov. 4-7 fair, which features exhibitors from 71 countries and cities around the world spread out across 1,200 booths, is the first international tourism fair in Taiwan since Oct. 13’s border reopening.
During a welcome address, Tsai said the closing of Taiwan to international visitors for more than two years had offered government agencies an opportunity to work with the local tourism industry on reviewing and renovating attractions as well as developing tours and services.
Some of the fruits of these collaborative efforts were on show at the Taipei ITF, with exhibits highlighting over 100 itineraries from government agencies including the Forestry Bureau, the Hakka Affairs Council (HAC), and the Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP).
At the Forestry Bureau’s booth, interested showgoers could find information on tour packages to destinations such as the Alishan Forest Railway, the Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou and Hualien counties, and the Dasyueshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taichung.
According to representatives from the HAC, the council has created more than 100 tours to Hakka villages across the nation, which also include visits to cocoa plantations, wineries, and the Raknus Selu Trail joining Taoyuan’s Longtan and Taichung’s Dongshih districts.
Meanwhile, the CIP said it had created more than 20 package tours centered around indigenous festivals, hot springs, and cuisine in five indigenous villages spread across seven cities and counties.
Following Tsai’s address, Transportation Minister Wang Kuo-tsai (王國材) told attendees that the government would back efforts by the local tourism industry in digitizing and fostering “green” travel.
A sense of buoyant optimism was also evident among the ITF’s exhibitors.
Taiwan Visitors Association Chairwoman Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭) said that the World Travel and Tourism Council had forecast average annual growth of 8.5 percent for the Asia-Pacific tourism market until 2032.
This is expected to drive economic growth in the region, Yeh said.
Meanwhile, according to Starlux spokesman Nieh Kuo-wei (聶國維), forecasts suggest the luxury airline’s passenger numbers will grow by 50 percent the end of the year.
To entice future fliers, Starlux Airlines brought a replica Airbus A350-900 cabin interior replete with mock-ups of passenger VIP areas for fairgoers to experience.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel