Taiwan sees record-breaking tourist arrivals: Ministry of Transportation says 10 million to be reached in 4 years

By Li Xinyi, reporting

One of the tourism industry’s major events, the Tourism Day Celebration Conference, was held today to honor outstanding tourism operators from last year. With over 6.08 million tourists visiting Taiwan last year, a new high in visitor numbers was set, demonstrating the effectiveness of tourism promotion efforts. Key achievements in tourism this year include the launch of the Taipei Songshan–Seoul Gimpo route in March, which will officially complete the Northeast Asia Golden Route. With ongoing infrastructure developments, Minister of Transportation Mao Chi-kuo stated that by 2016, Taiwan will become a tourism powerhouse with 10 million visitors.

Last year, the Tourism Bureau promoted Taiwan’s visibility globally through bus, print, and TV advertisements, and Taiwan was even listed as one of the top 10 recommended countries to visit in 2012 by the travel bible Lonely Planet. Regarding the new high in tourist arrivals, President Ma Ying-jeou said that out of Taiwan’s population of 23 million, having 6.08 million tourists shows an increasing trend. Compared with other Asian

This year, the Tourism Bureau awarded the "Taiwan Tourism Special Contribution Award" to Mr. Tyler Brûlé, founder of Monocle magazine, and Mr. Pan Siliang, chairman of Regent International Hotels Group. The former has promoted Taiwan through simple illustrations and a series of feature reports, while the latter acquired the global brand trademark of Regent, becoming the first operator in Taiwan to own an international top-tier hotel brand—Regent Taipei.

The unique appeal of Taiwan’s homestays is also part of the nation’s soft power in tourism. This year, New Taipei City was recognized as the top-performing special municipality for homestays, while Taoyuan, Hualien, and Kinmen received Grade A honors. In the annual assessment and competition for tourist attractions, E-DA Theme Park, Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village, Ocean Park, Window on China Theme Park, Leofoo Village Theme Park, Shalin Forest Recreation Area, Doraemon Science Theme Park, West Lake Resort, Chianshi Pi Jiangnan Resort, Leofoo Village Theme Park, Atayal Resort, and Happy Wonderland all received special excellence awards.