Visitor numbers plummet: Alishan businesses lament, 'Only Ma Ying-jeou keeps us company'

The structure of Taiwan's inbound tourism market is undergoing a qualitative shift. Last year, the number of mainland Chinese visitors to Taiwan dropped to 2.73 million, falling from 40% in 2015 to just 25% of total arrivals. This has led to a sharp decline in tourist numbers across the island’s scenic spots. Industry insiders revealed that with visitor traffic drastically reduced and spending power diminished, even the daily arrival of one or two tour groups from Southeast Asia isn’t enough — they even find drinks priced at NT$35 too expensive. Nowadays, it’s just 'Ma Ying-jeou' keeping the shops company.

According to data released by the Tourism Bureau, the number of mainland Chinese visitors to Taiwan last year fell to 2.73 million. Not only does this figure represent a lower share of the inbound tourism market compared to the 27% from Northeast Asia, but it is also on the verge of being overtaken by the Southeast Asia market, which has risen to account for 21%.

The number of mainland Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan has been halved. As reported by the United Daily News, local business owners lament that in the past, Alishan shops would place life-sized cutouts of Ma Ying-jeou outside their stores for mainland visitors to take photos with. But now, visitor numbers have dropped to just 30% of previous levels. With few independent travelers coming from Chiayi and even rarer sightings of Southeast Asian tourists, it’s now just 'Ma Ying-jeou' keeping the shops company.

Moreover, even though one or two tour groups from Southeast Asia visit daily, they even find NT$35 items like Alishan’s favorite fernseed jelly and sugarcane juice too pricey and refuse to buy them, not to mention other Taiwanese specialties. Local operators estimate that while the average mainland Chinese visitor spends around NT$10,000 during their stay in Taiwan, Southeast Asian tourists may spend only about one-third of that amount.