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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Stimulus plan for tourism to start on July 15
Tourism Bureau Director-General Chang Shi-chung, left, speaks to reporters in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Chen Hsin-yu, Taipei Times
TRAVEL SUBSIDIES: The transport ministry agreed to move the schedule from September to July due to urgent pleas from the tourism sector for aid
By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to introduce on July 15 a NT$5.5 billion （US$187.9 million） stimulus program for the travel industry, which has sustained massive losses since the nation’s borders were closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai （王國材） yesterday met with travel agencies, hoteliers, amusement park operators and tour bus operators to discuss how the stimulus funds should be used to support the tourism industry.
Details of the program are to be finalized on Friday next week.
Travel Agent Association chairman Hsiao Po-jen （蕭博仁） told reporters after the meeting that participants said they hoped the funds could become available on July 15, instead of September as proposed by the government.
With the ministry agreeing, many travel agencies that have been in “intensive care units” should be able to move to “general wards,” he said.
Hsiao said they also hoped the government would quickly lift the ban on travel agencies organizing inbound and outbound tours, and removing the requirement that foreign tourists must have had at least three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Tourism Bureau Director-General Chang Shi-chung （張錫聰） said that the ministry has agreed that the stimulus program would be enforced from July 15 to Dec. 15, rather than from Sept. 1 to Oct. 31, and that the funds would apply to independent travelers, tour groups and amusement park visitors.
Independent travelers are to receive subsidies for tours that include days between Sunday and Thursday, Chang said.
The subsidies will be in the amount of NT$800, with an additional bonus subsidy of NT$500 for those who have received three shots of a COVID-19 vaccine, for a total subsidy of NT$1,300 per night.
The hotel must be star-rated, a cyclist-friendly hotel or a bed and breakfast recommended by the Taiwan Host Association.
Each person can apply for the travel subsidy only once, Chang said.
“Domestic travel and cross-border tourism will return to normal once we pass the plateau of the pandemic,” Chang said. “During the transitional period, we are helping hotels and tourists follow the disease prevention guidelines.”
The funding will be distributed on a “first come, first serve” basis, as the budget for the funding is limited, he said.
A group tour can receive up to NT$30,000 if it has more than 15 members, lasts at least three days, hires a guide who does not have an employer or is indigenous, and meets other special conditions specified by the bureau.
People can receive a 70 percent discount on admission fees if they go to an amusement park on a weekday, the bureau said.
Tour bus operators who scored at least a “B” in the annual performance evaluation would be given NT$1,000 to NT$2,000 per day by the Directorate-General of Highways if their buses were hired by travel agencies, with the funding capped at three days, Chang said.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
