Starting from 2015, regardless of peak or off-peak seasons, the daily limit for Mainland Chinese tour groups is set at 5,000 visitors.

▲Starting from 2015, regardless of peak or off-peak seasons, the daily limit for Mainland Chinese tour groups visiting Taiwan is 5,000 people. (Photo: Chen Ming-jen)

Tourism Center / Comprehensive Report

During the morning session of the Executive Yuan's administrative meeting, which heard a report from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications on tourism carrying capacity assessment and international market development plans, Premier Jiang Yi-huah stated that tourism should prioritize quality over quantity. Starting in 2015, regardless of peak or off-peak seasons, the daily limit for Mainland Chinese tour groups visiting Taiwan will be 5,000 people.

Executive Yuan spokesperson Sun Lih-chyun relayed Premier Jiang’s directives during the meeting, noting that while the volume of tourists needs to grow steadily, the improvement in quality is even more important. In the future, Mainland Chinese tourists are encouraged to join high-quality tour groups. Tourism Bureau Director-General Janice Lai indicated that from January to February this year, the overall growth rate of Taiwan’s tourism market reached 29.12%. Currently, the Mainland Chinese market accounts for one-third, the second largest market is Japan with 17.3% growth, and Hong Kong and Macau grew by 20%. Janice Lai also mentioned that South Korea saw a 96.66% increase over these two months, surpassing the United States for the first time to become the fourth-largest market, which was quite surprising. The surge is likely attributed to the popularity of the Korean variety show “Grandpas Over Flowers.”

Janice Lai expressed confidence that if the tourism market continues to grow this year, the goal of 9 million visitors can be achieved, and breaking the 10 million mark is only a matter of time. Currently, the daily cap for Mainland Chinese tour groups is 5,000 people. From March to May, the peak season, this limit is flexibly raised to 8,000. Janice Lai also relayed Premier Jiang’s directive that starting next year, the daily limit for Mainland Chinese tour groups will be 5,000 people regardless of the season, emphasizing that quality should take precedence over quantity.

 As for whether the student-led occupation of the Legislative Yuan has impacted tourism, Janice Lai stated that the occupied Legislative Yuan and restricted areas are not main routes for tour groups and have not been affected. Perhaps independent travelers may visit out of curiosity. Additionally, based on information from overseas offices, no countries have advised their citizens against traveling to Taiwan at this time. (Source: Central News Agency)