Taiwan welcomed its 10 millionth foreign visitor Dec. 2, marking the fourth consecutive year the nation has reached the milestone, according to the Tourism Bureau under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.
 
This achievement, which was made 10 days earlier than in 2017, underscores the effectiveness of government efforts to diversify visitor sources and upgrade the country’s travel environment, it said.
 
As of October, around 23 percent of visitors were from the 18 New Southbound Policy target countries, according to the bureau’s statistics. In particular, arrivals from the Philippines and Vietnam registered significant year-on-year increases, with the former climbing 51 percent and the latter rising 33 percent.
 
A variety of measures has been enacted to attract visitors from NSP target countries, including easing visa regulations as well as fostering a Muslim-friendly travel environment through promoting halal certification and installing prayer rooms at major transportation hubs.
 
The bureau also credited public and private sectors’ efforts to offer higher-quality travel experiences. These include the four-year Tourism 2020 initiative, which designates an annual promotional theme, with townships set to be the focus of efforts in 2019 and mountains the subject of the following year.
 
Travelers from Japan are expected to break a record 2 million by the end of 2018, while total arrivals from NSP target countries should pass 2.5 million, it said. Taiwan welcomed 10.74 million visitors in 2017, with China, NSP countries and Japan the top three sources, in that order, according to bureau statistics.
 
The government’s NSP initiative is enhancing Taiwan’s agricultural, business, cultural, education, tourism and trade ties with the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states, six South Asian countries, Australia and New Zealand. (CPY-E)