Tokyo Retains Top Spot as the Most Popular Overseas Travel City for Taiwanese

By the MOOK Scenic Spots Family Editorial Team
 
According to the renowned hotel booking website’s Hotel Price Index^TM, abbreviated as HPI^TM, the report indicates that after three years of steady growth, global accommodation prices rose by 2% in 2017. With the proliferation of virtual currencies, the buzz around red carpet controversies flooding social media, and a gradual improvement in the political climate, the overall travel environment has undergone significant changes. The global hotel price index increased by 2%, with the global HPI index reaching 116—close to the peak of 118 recorded in 2007. Except for North America, all other regions saw growth, indicating a strong upward trend in the tourism industry.

According to statistics from the Tourism Bureau in 2018* , as domestic tourism markets shrank, low-cost carriers emerged, and neighboring country currencies depreciated, Taiwanese people spent as much as NT$564 billion on overseas travel in the first three quarters of 2017—nearly double the amount spent on domestic tourism. Additionally, it was found that most of the cities favored by Taiwanese travelers last year were located in Asia, demonstrating that nearby destinations continue to hold strong appeal. Tokyo retained the top spot, while Paris was the only non-Asian city to make the list.

The survey also shows that Asian hotel prices offer the best value for Taiwanese travelers. Looking closely at the average nightly hotel rates paid by Taiwanese in the top ten overseas travel cities, compared to 2016, due to the depreciation of the Japanese yen, prices in Japanese cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, Okinawa, and Kyoto dropped by 7–8%. In Hong Kong, Singapore, and Shanghai, the average nightly rate increased by only about 1–2%, while Bangkok and Paris saw modest increases of 3–4%. Among them, Bangkok is the city with the highest cost-performance ratio, with an average nightly rate of just NT$2,527.

2017Taiwanese Overseas Travel Destinations Ranking
Average Nightly Hotel Rate Changes (NT$)

Rank	City	Average Nightly Rate[3]	Change from 2016
1	Tokyo	3,865	-7%
2	Osaka	3,822	-8%
3	Bangkok	2,527	3%
4	Seoul	2,673	-7%
5	Okinawa	4,220	-7%
6	Hong Kong	4,297	2%
7	Kyoto	3,935	-8%
8	Singapore	4,206	1%
9	Shanghai	4,000	0%
10	Paris	4,881	4%

 

Island vacations are in vogue
The report also found that Da Nang, known as the “Oriental Hawaii,” jumped 43 spots to become the best city with travel potential. As Vietnam’s fourth-largest city, located in the central part of the country and adjacent to the southern coast of China, Da Nang boasts 30 kilometers of beaches paired with sunny blue skies, offering a relaxing vacation atmosphere amid breathtaking sea views. Travelers pay an average of just NT$2,673 per night for hotels. In addition, the hotel price index report also noted that the average nightly hotel rate paid by Taiwanese visiting Sabah, Malaysia, increased by 25% compared to the previous year, showing that Taiwanese are willing to spend more for island getaways.