Pinoys assist reshape Taiwan tourism

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Corridor

Regardless of the geopolitical noise created by threats of invasion, Taiwan stays as a beautiful vacationer vacation spot for Filipinos.

And that appeal comes from Taiwan’s total efforts to reshape its tourism trade by luring extra holiday-makers from Southeast Asia, who at the moment are coming to the island in numbers near the years earlier than pandemic lockdowns saved folks of their properties.

Newest information from the Taiwan Tourism Administration present that complete worldwide arrivals in Taiwan had grown by 27.14 p.c year-on-year within the first 9 months of 2024 to five.5 million. The determine, nevertheless, remains to be under the 8.8 million arrivals recorded throughout the identical interval in 2019, or earlier than the pandemic.

However zooming in, vacationers from Southeast Asia had jumped by 10.5 p.c within the January to September interval to 1.68 million, already near pre-COVID-19 degree. Notably, Filipinos cornered the most important share of Southeast Asian guests to the island after clocking in a 38.77-percent progress to 338,386—nearly hitting the quantity recorded in the identical nine-month interval in 2019.

“Taiwan is surrounded by mountains and seas, with wealthy and numerous pure landscapes. With the attractive surroundings, vacationers can at all times discover their inside peace by immersing themselves with the tranquility of Taiwan,” Cindy Chen, director of the Tourism Administration, tells the Inquirer in an interview throughout a familiarization tour on the island’s capital of Taipei.

Article continues after this commercial

“With such causes, vacationers are wanting to revisit Taiwan and uncover its appeal via completely different features,” Chen provides.

Article continues after this commercial

Taipei 101 skyscraper

Loads of selections

This, in flip, helps Taiwan’s financial system that—albeit technology-focused and export-oriented—has a vibrant tourism sector that generates jobs for many individuals working in locations just like the well-known night time markets.

”Whether or not in large cities or small cities, from avenue meals to tremendous eating, there are many selections to fulfill completely different wants,” Chen says.

As it’s, Southeast Asian vacationers are choosing up the slack from the nonetheless weak variety of Chinese language guests, who at the moment are being outnumbered by vacationers from the Philippines alone.

Official information present that not like up to now years when mainland China was the highest supply of worldwide arrivals to Taiwan, the share of Chinese language guests to complete overseas vacationers to the island has shrunk to simply round 5 p.c. The Tourism Administration experiences that solely 293,235 Chinese language from the mainland visited the island within the first 9 months of 2024, coinciding with rising tensions within the Taiwan Strait.

In early June, Taipei guests can witness the annual Dragon Boat Pageant.

Planning a visit?

It thus makes good sense that Taiwan now sees the Philippines as an necessary market. Filipinos at the moment take pleasure in visa-free entry to Taiwan for as much as 14 days. On the identical time, Taiwan is the closest neighbor of the Philippines within the north, with main airways providing flights between the 2 locations.

And Filipinos are making probably the most out of their visits. In keeping with the newest information from the Tourism Administration, Filipinos stayed for a median of 6.31 nights in Taiwan—largely for leisure—through the January to September interval, albeit the shortest amongst Southeast Asian guests.

Evening markets resembling probably the most well-known one in Shilin District

Finest time to go

And if you’re planning a visit to Taiwan, Chen says holidaymakers from the Philippines could time their go to through the Dragon Boat Pageant, which is mostly held in early June across the summer season solstice in line with the Chinese language lunar calendar.

This yr, the Taipei Worldwide Dragon Boat Championships held final June 8 to 10 on the picturesque Dajia Riverside Park in Zhongshan District in Taipei was a spectacular showcase of contemporary cityscape, riverside improvement and wealthy custom that attracted expert groups of rowers from Taiwan and across the globe.

“Loads of races can be organized from northern to southern Taiwan. There are extra customs for vacationers to expertise through the vacation,” Chen says.