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進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Southeast, South Asian numbers set tourism record high
/ Staff writer, with CNA
The number of tourists from the 18 nations targeted by the government’s “new southbound policy” who visited Taiwan in January rose 42.8 percent from the same period last year to 68,000 people, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations said.
The number represents a record high for the same month over the past four years, the office said, adding that Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines were the five largest sources of visitors to Taiwan from the 18 nations.
The number of Thai travelers in January was 170 percent higher than the same month last year, breaking the 10,000 mark, the office said.
The office attributed the increase to the increased interest in Taiwan generated by the launch in August last year of a three-month trial visa-exemption program for ordinary Thai passport holders.
The number of tourists from Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, India, Myanmar and Laos all increased more than 50 percent, due to the government’s new visa policy for tourists from the region, it added.
Since the government last year launched the “new southbound policy” — which aims to develop comprehensive relations with ASEAN members and South Asian nations, as well as Australia and New Zealand and promote regional exchanges and collaboration — Taiwan has seen a 25.83 percent year-on-year increase in the number of tourists from nations targeted by the policy between August last year and January, a record high for the same period over the past five years, the office said.
Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines made the biggest contributions to the growth, although Cambodian and Burmese numbers also rose, the office added.
The government is to offer visa exemptions to tourists from more countries under the policy over the next three years, including Indonesia, India, the Philippines, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, the office said.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
