2012's Most Popular Travel Destinations Among Taiwanese: Tokyo, Osaka, and Hong Kong Rank in Top Three

Reported by You T-Ru / Taipei

Where do Taiwanese people love to travel abroad? Hotels.com, the global leader in online hotel services, announced today (March 28) that in 2012 it included Taiwan in the Hotel Price Index (HPI®) report for the first time. According to the latest report, Tokyo, Osaka, and Hong Kong were the top three overseas travel destinations of choice for Taiwanese travelers in 2012. In addition, thanks to the boost from the London Olympics last year, London overtook Paris and entered the top ten.


▲ Tokyo has long been one of the most popular travel destinations for Taiwanese people. (Photo / from Wikipedia)

Aside from revealing Taiwanese travelers' favorite destinations, it is worth mentioning that although the United States did not make it into the top ten this time, Taiwan was officially included in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program in November 2012, and several direct flights between Taiwan and the U.S. are set to launch this year. It is expected that major U.S. cities may have a chance to break into the top ten.

                       %Top 10 Overseas Travel Cities Preferred by Taiwanese Travelers in 2012. (Table / provided by the company)

The continued boom in tourism from mainland Chinese visitors to Taiwan has led to an upward trend in average hotel prices in Taiwan. The latest Hotel Price Index report from Hotels.com shows that for Chinese travelers, compared to 2011, the average hotel price spent in Taiwan in 2012 increased by 8% (in RMB), with the average hotel price in Taipei seeing even a 10% increase (in RMB), ranking as the eighth highest growth among global cities for mainland tourists—surpassing popular destinations such as Tokyo and New York. The outlook for Taiwan’s hotel industry in 2013 looks very promising.

Peggy Chuang, Greater China Marketing Director at Hotels.com, said: “The number of outbound tourists from China continues to grow, and the rapid development of low-cost and other airline markets will definitely bring more visitors to the Asia-Pacific region and Taiwan, boosting the development and investment in the hotel industry in the coming years. Hotels.com will continue to provide travelers with the most professional booking services and travel research information to meet their needs!”