New high！Over 7.72 million tourists visited Taiwan this year—Mainland Chinese lead in numbers, Japanese top spenders

▲ Lake Jiaming, known as the “Angel’s Tear,” in Taitung. (Photo / Courtesy of Taitung County Tourism Bureau)

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

Tourist arrivals in Taiwan hit an all-time high！The Tourism Bureau announced on the 22nd that the number of visitors to Taiwan this year has surpassed 7.72 million, with 70% traveling for tourism purposes, generating NT$360 billion in tourism foreign exchange earnings. Mainland Chinese tourists make up the largest group, while South Korea saw the highest growth rate at 30%, and Japanese tourists are the "biggest spenders." The Tourism Bureau expects to reach 8 million visitors by New Year’s Eve and plans to give over 80 gifts to the lucky "8 millionth visitor."

According to the Tourism Bureau, in terms of "tourism purpose," Chinese tourists are the largest source of visitors to Taiwan’s tourism industry. From January to November this year, the number of mainland Chinese visitors to Taiwan has already exceeded last year’s 2.58 million, and it is expected to surpass 2.75 million for the whole year; Japan ranks second. Affected by the depreciation of the yen, the number of outbound travelers from Japan has decreased, with an estimated 1.4 million visitors to Taiwan this year.

▲ View of Taipei 101 from Elephant Mountain (left); beautiful scenery of Sun Moon Lake (right). (Provided by Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism; from the Facebook fan page “Rediscover. Dynamic Sun Moon Lake!”)Rediscover. Dynamic Sun Moon Lake！Facebook fan page)

The Tourism Bureau also pointed out that Hong Kong and Macau tourists, who first surpassed one million last year, achieved that milestone again in November this year, with an estimated 1.1 million visitors for the whole year. South Korea is the country with the highest growth rate in tourist visits to Taiwan this year. The Tourism Bureau noted that the Korean TV show “Grandpas Over Flowers,” which featured a special on Taiwan, has sparked greater interest in Taiwan travel among viewers.

In terms of tourism spending power, although the yen has depreciated, Japanese tourists are still big spenders, with their consumption power ranking first, about 30% of which is spent on shopping; Mainland Chinese tourists rank second, with over 60% of their spending on shopping. The Tourism Bureau stated that the 8 millionth “lucky visitor” will receive over 80 Taiwanese-made gifts, more than double the 30 gifts worth NT$300,000 given to the 7 millionth visitor last year.