Visitors from Hong Kong/Macao overtake Japan as largest group of tourists to Taiwan
Visitors from Hong Kong/Macao overtake Japan as largest group of tourists to Taiwan
2024-02-25
A sign of post-pandemic recovery is the sight of foreign visitors on the streets. However, Japan, the country that sent the highest number of visitors to Taiwan before the pandemic, has fallen to the number two spot. According to the Tourism Administration, the places where the highest number of tourists came from are Hong Kong and Macao. The reason, according to experts, is the depreciation of the Japanese yen.
A long line has formed in Taipei’s Ximending early in the morning on a weekend. These people, it turns out, are foreign tourists waiting to get their pictures taken on Taipei’s rainbow crosswalk.
Tourist from Thailand
Because it is close to Thailand. It is, I have to say, not expensive.
Taiwan’s great variety of food, as well as its popular tourist destinations like Jiufen Old Street and the National Palace Museum, have caught the attention of foreigners. According to the Tourism Administration, last year, Hong Kong and Macao ranked first with over 1.19 million people visiting Taiwan from the two territories. Japan ranked second with 928,000 visitors, and South Korea came in third at 744,000 visitors. Meanwhile, more than 400,000 visitors each from Malaysia and Singapore came to Taiwan for sightseeing.
Tourists from Hong Kong
We go Shopping. There’re lots of good gifts. We were just here in August. We’ve come two or three times, once every year.
The latest figures are quite different from those of 2019. Before the pandemic, Japanese tourists ranked the highest at 2.16 million. Last year, however, there were just 928,000 visitors from Japan. Experts say the depreciation of the yen had a lot to do with the drop.
Huang Cheng-tsung
Dept. of Tourism professor, Providence University
The depreciation of the yen has led to higher costs for Japanese when they go abroad. Also, Hong Kong is closer to Taiwan. Another thing is, many Hong Kong tourists had come to Taiwan to study in the past, so they already have a close connection with Taiwan.
Another reason for the rise of tourists from Hong Kong, Macao, and Southeast Asia is government policy. Until the end of July this year, travelers from the Philippines, Thailand, and Brunei can visit Taiwan without a visa. Moreover, up till the end of June 2025, foreign passport holders who travel independently can enter a lottery to obtain NT$5,000-worth of vouchers if they register within seven days before arrival. Tour groups made up of four or more people can also apply for NT$5,000- to NT$50,000-worth of vouchers. All this is so that the government can reach the goal of 12 million international tourists coming to Taiwan in 2024.
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疫後旅遊業復甦! "港澳旅客"登遊台人數冠軍
2024-02-25
疫後觀光旅遊業復甦，現在走在路上到處都能看到國外觀光客，根據觀光署統計，去年有648.7萬名國際旅客來台灣觀光，其中港澳旅客人最多，日本第二名!專家就說日本人來台灣觀光人數降低，跟日圓貶值、旅遊成本變高有關。
長長隊伍等著在彩虹斑馬線上拍美照，假日一大早，台北西門町就湧現滿滿人潮，清一色都是國外觀光客。
[[泰國旅客]]
“因為離泰國很近，我必須說價格不貴”
九份老街、故宮博物院，特色景點還有美食吸引外國人目光，根據觀光署統計，去年最愛來台灣旅遊的國家，港澳獲得第一名，達119.9萬人，第二名是日本，92.8萬人，第三名韓國74.4萬人，其他像是馬來西亞、新加坡也分別都有超過40萬人次來台觀光。
[[香港旅客]]
“逛街買東西，很多禮物都很好。8月才來的，已經兩三次了，每年都來一次的”
數據一曝光，對比2019年疫情之前，日本來台觀光人次高達216萬，位居第一，而去年只有92.8萬，專家指出，跟日幣貶值有關係。
[[靜宜大學觀光系副教授 黃正聰]]
“日幣貶值導致說，他們出國的時候，成本是變高的，因為香港旅客，他們來台灣是比較近的，另外的話是香港旅客，他們過去很多人都有來台灣讀書，所以跟台灣的連結是很強的”
港澳、東南亞旅客逆勢崛起，也跟政策有關!菲律賓、泰國、汶萊，到今年7月底都免簽，另外到114年6月底，只要持國外護照，自由行旅客入境七天前登記，就能抽5千元，4人以上旅行團也能申請5千到5萬元的獎勵金，力拚2024，1200萬國際旅客來台的目標。
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