‘Southbound’ visa policy gives Taiwan a tourism boom
The number of tourists from countries covered under the Taiwanese government’s New Southbound Policy who visited Taiwan between January and August registered 36-per-cent growth over the same period of last year.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday Taiwan saw nearly 1.4 million tourist arrivals from the 18 countries covered by the policy.
Among those, Vietnam was the largest source of visitors, with a 113-per-cent increase from the same period of last year, the report said.
The number of visitors from Thailand and the Philippines also posted growth of more than 70 per cent thanks to a more convenient visa policy introduced by the government for tourists from Southeast Asia, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, trade between Taiwan and countries covered by the policy reached US$82.298 billion between January and September, a 19-per-cent increase from the same period last year.
The ministry said the policy’s effectiveness was becoming more and more apparent, with continuous exchanges increasingly highlighting Taiwan’s role in the Asia-Pacific region.
Foreign Minister David Lee was on Wednesday due to present the report to the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defence Committee.
