Taiwan tourism hit as mainland visitors decline
Print Edition
VISITOR numbers to Taiwan fell in the first quarter of this year, dragged down by a 42 percent drop in arrivals from the Chinese mainland.
The January-March quarter saw the total number of visitors fall 10 percent to 2.54 million from last year, according to data from Taiwan’s tourism bureau.
Increases from other areas were not enough to offset the steep fall in mainland visitors, which plummeted to 659,575 from 1.14 million.
Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen and her ruling Democratic Progressive Party, which advocates “independence” for Taiwan, have said they want to maintain peace with the mainland but refused to concede to the “One China” principle.
“The tension in cross-Strait relations definitely affects their desire to visit and spend in Taiwan,” said Ringo Lee, a spokesman for the Travel Agent Association of Taiwan.
The drop in visitor numbers in the first quarter follows a record high last year, which saw 10.69 million arrivals.
Tsai has been trying to expand ties with Southeast Asian countries, but critics say the market is too small to catch up anytime soon.
Mainland visitors accounted for about 33 percent of the total in 2016, the biggest group, while those from Southeast Asia made up 15 percent.
Taiwan saw a boom in mainland tourists under former leader Ma Ying-jeou, who oversaw eight years of cross-Strait rapprochement and trade deals.
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