Rancid Oil Scare Even Scares Mainland Tourists: Quality Assurance Association Estimates 20% Drop in Visitors

▲ Affected by food safety concerns, many mainland tourists worry about consuming rancid oil while visiting Taiwan. (Photo / Reporter Chen Ruizhong)

Reported by Chen Ruizhong / Taipei

The rancid oil incident that has terrified people across Taiwan continues to escalate, not only impacting the local food and beverage industry but also affecting the tourism sector.

According to Chen Shanguo, Vice President of the Republic of China Travel Quality Assurance Association, many mainland tourists have now developed concerns over Taiwan’s food safety, especially those on budget tours who worry about eating rancid oil during meals. Additionally, as many famous bakeries used rancid oil in their products, souvenir shops and pineapple cake stores included in mainland tourists’ shopping itineraries have recently been actively proving the safety of their products

Although there have not yet been any cancellations by Chinese tourists due to the recycled cooking oil scandal, Chen Shanguo did not hesitate to point out that this wave of recycled oil incidents is expected to affect the number of Chinese tourists over the next two months. The first to be impacted will be the budget group tours during the National Day holiday period, with an estimated 20% decline in the number of Chinese visitors to Taiwan. In contrast, European, American, Japanese, and Korean tour groups, which pay higher tour fees and therefore dine at restaurants of relatively higher standards, are less affected by this food safety issue.