Almost 1 million passengers expected to travel abroad during Lunar New Year break

Almost 1 million passengers expected to travel abroad during Lunar New Year break

2023-01-18

International tourism is back in full throttle. Almost 1 million travelers are expected to leave the island during the Lunar New Year break. The day with the highest number of departures is expected to be Jan. 28, with 94,000 passengers taking a flight away from Taiwan. Wednesday was a busy day at international airports, with almost 56,000 outgoing passengers. It was also busy at Bureau of Consular Affairs branches, as it was the last day to apply for a new passport before the holiday.

A long line of passengers stretches to the check-in counter. The terminal is packed with travelers and luggage.

The plane is about to take off, but some passengers are still waiting in line. A member of staff looks for them in the queue.

Traveler
I was shocked. In my 10 years’ traveling I had never seen so many people.

Traveler
It took much longer than usual. At least twice as long.

About 988,000 people are expected to travel abroad this Lunar New Year break. The highest number of departing passengers is expected on Jan. 28 at 94,000 travelers. That’s the first time that the figure surpasses 90,000 since the pandemic and an increase of 15 fold over the same period in the past two years.

The large traveler volumes have become a bit of a headache for the Bureau of Consular Affairs, which is in charge of issuing passports. The bureau is closing for the break from Jan. 20 to Jan. 29, meaning Wednesday was the last day to apply for one.

Member of public
I waited for more than half an hour. I needed to renew my passport.

Member of the public
I waited for more than an hour to get it.

With everyone going abroad for the holidays, domestic tourism is in shambles.

According to the Tourism Bureau, hotel occupancy is at less than 50% for the first nine days of the 10-day break. That’s only about 7% higher than last year. With everyone itching to visit other countries, and amid high hotel prices, occupancy is leaving much to be desired for hoteliers this holiday season.

週三出境近5.6萬人領務局現趕辦護照人潮

2023-01-18

隨著疫情緩和國境解封，加上春節十天長假將至，近來桃機湧現人潮，週三單日出境人數就將近5.6萬人。根據桃機統計，初七人潮最多，高達9.4萬，跟前兩年同期相比，暴增15倍。如果想要春節出國，週三也是辦護照來得及領到的最後一天，也讓領務局一早就人潮爆多。

長長人龍綿延好幾個櫃檯，幾乎塞爆航廈，旅客拖著行李繼續排。

眼看都要登機了，還有人在排隊等報到，空服員趕快出來找人。

[[旅客]]
“滿驚訝的，因為十年來出國從來沒有看過這麼多人。”

[[旅客]]
“比平常花時間多很多。至少兩倍。”

算一算，過年期間大約有98萬8千多人要出國，初七人最多，高達9.4萬。不但是疫情三年以來，首度突破9萬人，和前兩年同期相比，更暴增15倍。

領務局也是人滿為患，因為領務局1/20到1/29休假，如果想要春節出國，週三也是辦護照來得及領到的最後一天，不少民眾都趕來申請護照。

[[民眾]]
“等半個多鐘頭了。要換照。”

[[民眾]]
“等一個小時有了。”

對比三年來最大出國潮，反觀國旅，卻是兩樣情。

根據交通部觀光局統計，今年春節10天連假訂房率，前9日平均訂房率不到5成，只比去年春節略高7%，資料顯示，因為瘋出國、春節國內房價高等因素，讓不少飯店住房率不如預期。

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