This year, aiming to attract 1.82 million Japanese tourists to Taiwan – Tourism Bureau rolls out major campaign “Buy 4 Tickets, Get 1 Free”

▲ Japanese tourists love traveling to Jiufen. (Photo illustration / Reporter Huang Kexiang)

Reported by Lai Wen-hsuan / Taipei

During the Double Ten holiday period, Tourism Bureau Director-General Yung-Wei Chou led a team to Japan for promotional exchanges. The mutual visits between Taiwan and Japan are expected to hit 6 million this year. Today, Chou also declared hopes to attract

Tourism Bureau Director-General Chang Yung-hui recently led a delegation to Japan for an exchange and today shared insights from the trip with the media. He said that during the short three-day visit to one metropolis and two prefectures in Japan, he saw strong potential in the Japanese outbound travel market to Taiwan. For first-tier cities such as Tokyo and Osaka, the goal is to boost repeat visitation rates, while for second-tier Japanese cities, the aim is to actively promote tourism and encourage group visits for school trips and incentive travel, aiming to attract their first trips to Taiwan.

▲Tourism Bureau Director-General Chang Yung-hui. (Photo / Reporter Lai Wen-hsuan)

The Tourism Bureau is rolling out measures to attract Japanese visitors. Starting November 1, it has launched a year-end “Enjoy Traveling in Taiwan” promotion campaign. The Bureau is also negotiating with airlines and travel agencies to offer deals such as “4 Pay, 1 Free” on flight tickets, along with giveaways including EasyCard transportation electronic tickets and maps as promotional materials. The initiative hopes to encourage Japanese families, couples, and friends to travel to Taiwan together on independent tours, with an estimated 2,500 groups set to benefit.

▲The Tourism Bureau’s “4 Pay, 1 Free” scheme aims to encourage Japanese travelers to visit Taiwan in groups. (Illustration / Reporter Huang Ke-hsiang)

Chang Yung-hui said that last year, 1.62 million Japanese visitors came to Taiwan. As of August this year, 1.2 million Japanese tourists had already visited. The original target for this year was 1.72 million, but through more proactive outreach, the goal is now to reach 1.82 million Japanese visitors by the end of the year.