On October 16, the head of Taiwan’s transportation authority announced that since the beginning of the year, 5.8 million international tourists have visited Taiwan, and the number is expected to reach 7.5 million by the end of the year. However, this figure falls short of the 10 million target.
According to reports from local media including Central News Agency and United Daily News, approximately 4.97 million travelers entered Taiwan from January to August, while around 11.38 million residents traveled abroad during the same period, resulting in a net outbound tourism deficit of 6.41 million. This has led to projections that the total tourism deficit for inbound and outbound travel in Taiwan could reach NT$730 billion, marking record highs for both traveler numbers and revenue deficits.
Industry players attribute this unsatisfactory “report card” primarily to the significant decrease in tourists from mainland China. Lee Chi-yueh, chairman of the Taiwan Quality Tourism Development Association, pointed out that Taiwan’s overseas tourist markets largely rely on visitors from mainland China, Japan, and South Korea. With the number of Chinese tourists dwindling, coupled with the impact of currency fluctuations and natural disasters like typhoons and earthquakes, the willingness of Japanese and Korean travelers to visit Taiwan has also declined. He emphasized that the tense cross-strait relations severely hamper Taiwan’s tourism industry.
According to a report by China Times News Network, data shows that since August 22, when mainland residents from Fujian Province were allowed to travel to Matsu, only 372 visitors had arrived by October 13. Local tourism operators in Matsu expressed disappointment over the numbers, which did not meet their expectations.
An editorial from the Wang Bao analyzed that the stringent entry regulations imposed by the Taiwanese authorities are a major factor in the decreased number of mainland visitors. In the past, it was simple for mainland residents to travel to Kinmen and Matsu, with minimal bureaucratic hurdles. Now, however, the authorities have significantly raised the difficulty of entry procedures, eliminating the “on-arrival visa” option and requiring travelers to obtain a “Kinmen-Matsu Permit” through travel agencies, which is subjected to multiple layers of approval and has a high rejection rate.
Yang Yao-zhi, chairman of the Matsu Travel Business Association, believes that while mainland China has shown goodwill by allowing Fujian residents to visit Kinmen and Matsu, the Taiwanese authorities still prohibit group tours to the mainland. He argued that only with a shift in relevant policies from the Taiwanese government can the domestic tourism market truly revive.
