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By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter
The Tourism Administration yesterday announced that it would reward repeat international visitors with incentives of up to NT$8,000 to boost inbound tourism.
The incentives are available to all international tourists, it said, adding that repeat visitors would be rewarded with NT$5,000 and would receive an additional NT$3,000 if they bring travel companions.
The nation received 2,990,657 inbound visitors during the first quarter, marking a 3.8 percent increase from the same period last year, agency data showed.
Photo courtesy of the New Taipei City Department of Tourism and Travel
Japanese nationals are among groups visiting Taiwan the most. About 1.48 million Japanese tourists arrived last year, a year-on-year increase of more than 12 percent from 2024. The number also accounted for about 70 percent of the 2019 level.
As Japan is scheduled to reduce the passport application fee to ￥7,000 (US$44) from ￥15,900 next month, Japan Association of Travel Agents launched a campaign to encourage more Japanese to travel overseas.
Tourism Administration Director-General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) on Tuesday met with association president Kuniharu Ebina and Hankyu Travel International chairman Jun Sakai.
With Japan’s passport application fee adjustment and Taiwan’s incentives for repeat international visitors, they hope that these measures would motivate more Japanese to visit Taiwan, the Tourism Administration said.
The agency said it would continue providing travel stimulus for people who arrive for trade exhibitions.
Separately, people who are to travel overseas during the Dragon Boat Festival long weekend are advised to arrive at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport early, as more than 713,000 people are scheduled to travel overseas from today to Monday next week.
The average daily number of people accessing the airport is estimated to reach 143,000, surpassing last year’s average of 132,000, Taiwan International Airport Corp said yesterday.
The number also exceeded the daily average of 138,000 in 2019, it said.
Passenger traffic at the airport during the long weekend is forecast to peak tomorrow at 149,000, it added.
The company called on people to arrive at the airport at least three hours before boarding, check-in online and use self-service baggage drop, the company said.
Travelers can also reduce waiting time by using e-Gates, it said.
They can check the estimated waiting time for security check, which is produced using artificial intelligence, the company said.
As of May 20, the nation’s largest international airport had been accessed by more than 20 million people this year.
The benchmark was reached 15 days earlier than last year and nine days earlier than in 2019, it added.
